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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27854658">Scarlet Traces, A Toontown Fancition</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gustybv/pseuds/Gustybv'>Gustybv</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scarlet Traces [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Disney's Toontown Online (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Drama &amp; Romance, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Blood, Mild torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:41:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27854658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gustybv/pseuds/Gustybv</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Every year around Halloween, Bloodsuckers are known to capture unsuspecting Toons off the streets. When Little Taffy ends up missing, her close friends Pearl, Roxy and Roxy's partner Seven, A Sellbot, attempt to save her. In the process uncover a sinister plot that is about to unfold.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cogs/Toons (Disney: Toontown)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scarlet Traces [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039158</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chance Encounter (Prologue)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted in 2015 to ff.net and DA, this is one of my older fanfics but one of my most popular. It combines characters and plot details from the Toontown fanfictions of PowerOptix, used with her permission, and mine. We joint wrote this back in 2007-8, and I subsequently rewrote and touched it up about 8 years later. I hope you'll enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a long day of completing Toon tasks; long and tiring. But the sight of the completed list was well worth it because it meant more beans. Little Taffy grinned triumphantly as she handed the shop keeper the small sheet of paper, “Here’s the list of less experienced Toons I helped out.”</p><p> </p><p>      He took it in his hand and looked over the names. After quickly running the names through a computer to confirm the signatures of the other Toons he smiled back at Little Taffy, “Well done,” he ducked below the counter for a moment before popping back up, “It’s nice to help the younger fighters out, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah, it is.” She smiled, but in the back of her mind thought: <em>sometimes…when they don’t badger for you to be their friends.</em></p><p> </p><p>     “Well, here’s your reward for helping out,” he then pulled a somewhat large sack of jelly beans from bellow the counter and handed them to her. A little overwhelmed by the bag’s size (nearly half the size of her head) she chuckled, “Wow, that’s quite a lot,” before she carefully stuffed it into her pants pocket.</p><p> </p><p>     “Now, you take care then Little Taffy. It’s getting late, and the Bloodsuckers like to come out around this hour; especially with it so close to Halloween.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’ll be fine, good night,” she waved happily at the shop keeper, he returned her good night with a wave also before she exited his shop.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy’s feet crunched loudly on the fallen leaves blowing around the street and side walk. It was a cool autumn night; the wind blustered about and made the leaves dance in wild, rhythmic patterns about her ankles as she walked. It would have been more enjoyable for her, had the breeze not been so bitingly cold.</p><p> </p><p>     “Brrr…I should have brought my scarf with me for the walk home. It’s chilly out.” She shivered and rubbed her arms, trying but failing to warm herself.</p><p> </p><p>     She continued her lonely stroll down the still empty street, unaware of just how empty it really was and unaware that she was being watched. He smirked when he laid eyes on her. Wrapping his evening cloak tighter around himself, he followed after her; being careful to tread as quietly over and around the leaves as he possibly could. She was further ahead, true, but then felines had exceptional ears, didn’t they?</p><p> </p><p>     Still oblivious to her prowler, she continued musing aloud to herself, “I hope that I’ve finally saved enough beans for that darn pipe organ in Clarabelle’s Catalogue. The price is ridiculous, 3000 jelly beans for it! But it’s just so cool I’ve got to have it! And even if I can’t, might just be better off getting a larger wardrobe. I’ve had to tie the door shut just to keep all my clothes in there…”</p><p> </p><p>     Still he followed her, checking every so often to make sure no one else was sneaking up on him; and getting rather annoyed that he was still no closer to catching her. Finally, the opportune moment arose. She had stopped, dead in her walking and was kicking at a pile of leaves that had accumulated on the edge of the street.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hmm…I wonder if Pearl’s decided on what she wants her costume to be this Halloween yet?”</p><p> </p><p>     Without another thought, he smirked and quickly closed the distance between them; but at the cost of losing his stealthy approach. His footsteps echoed loudly though the night and empty street. It didn’t take her long to hear them, and when she whipped around to face the source of the footsteps, “Woah!” she shouted and jumped back in surprise at the sight of the Bloodsucker; managing to pull out a seltzer bottle to defend with in the process.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker’s face was calm, unnerved by the seltzer bottle that was being practically shoved into his eye. He crossed his arms, his face still cool and collected. Eyes bearing into her’s, and he spoke in a calm, almost tender tone, “Put that down.”</p><p> </p><p>     Glaring hatefully at the Lawbot, she gripped her gag tightly and hissed at him, “Why should I?”</p><p> </p><p>     A smile graced him lips, exposing more of his fangs that already protruded slightly. Again, his tone was calm, only this time it seemed a little more enticing, “Because, you want to.” He continued looking directly at her in the eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “Pssh, yeah right; keep telling yourself that!” she growled again, returning his unwavering stare into her eyes by staring back into his.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker’s smiled widened; she was playing right into his hand. Continuing to stare into her eyes, he said, “Yes, you do.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy felt like someone was probing her mind, trying to make her obey. She blinked once and the feeling seemed to waver slightly.</p><p> </p><p><em>     His eyes…</em>she thought<em>, I’ve got to stop looking at his eyes.</em></p><p> </p><p>     But try as she might, her eyes didn’t seem to want to move. All she could seem to do was speak, “N-no, I don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes, you do,” he said once more, “Now, put the Gag away, and come with me.”</p><p> </p><p>     It took every last bit of mental strength she had to not listen to him. In her fight to win, she dropped the seltzer bottle on the ground. It shattered, spilling the fizzy water every where. Finally, she was able to tear her eyes away from his.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” she shouted at him once more, before quickly running from him as fast as she possibly could. The Blood-sucker sighed, before giving chase after her.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy tore down the street, looking for some way to escape from the Blood-sucker, knowing well she had no more gags left after helping the younger fighters out from before. That Seltzer she’d carelessly dropped had been her last. Her Sticker Book was buried deep inside one of her pockets, and she needed a safe place to look for it so she could teleport home. Suddenly up ahead was an alley way, it was her only chance, she had to take it. She dared to look back once, and to her horror, the Lawbot was hot on her heels. This alley way was her only chance to get away, it couldn’t fail her; it just couldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>     Rounding the corner, her only hope faded. The alley was a dead end, “No!” she cried out. There was no time. Still, she desperately began digging inside her pockets trying to find her sticker book. The footsteps of the Bloodsucker slowed to a walk and she turned to face him, her hands still fishing for her lost sticker book.</p><p> </p><p>     “Nowhere to run, Toon,” He chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>     Still looking, he took advantage of the situation and closed the short distance and grabbed hold of one of her wrists and Little Taffy let off a shriek of fright. His voice, no longer calm or seductive, but somewhat rough and demanding, “Look into my eyes.”</p><p> </p><p>     “N-no,” She shouted once again, using her free arm to cover her eyes with, and turned her head away from him.</p><p> </p><p>     Now getting very impatient with her, he grabbed her ear, and pinched it as hard as he could, “Look at me!”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy yelped in pain but continued to look away. When the pain became intolerable, she hesitantly looked back at him; the making of tears in her eyes. At the sight of her, his face softened a little, and his calm tone of voice returned, “That’s better. Now…” he trailed off in thought before continuing, “I want you to relax.” He caressed her cheek softly, wiping a stray tear that had managed to fall as he did so.</p><p> </p><p>     She stared into his eyes, and all fear disappeared from her. Calm enveloped all her senses. His touch was oddly welcoming. She leaned into it, savoring it. It was comforting, the feeling of his hand running over her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>     <em>What the heck am I</em> doing?!</p><p> </p><p>     Feeling her relax, the Bloodsucker released her wrist and smiled at her, “Good girl…” he paused and held out his hand for her to take, “Now come with me.”</p><p> </p><p>     At his words, all other thought faded. She looked down at his hand and grasped it. When his hand was in hers, she leaned up against him. He was surprisingly warm, and it was a welcome change from the bitter cold, she drew as close to him as she could. He smirked at her and wrapped his evening cloak around her. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he quietly led her off into the night.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>     Feeling her relax, the Bloodsucker released her wrist and smiled at her, “Good girl…” he paused and held out his hand for her to take, “Now come with me.”</p><p> </p><p>     At his words, all other thought faded. She looked down at his hand and grasped it. When his hand was in hers, she leaned up against him. He was surprisingly warm, and it was a welcome change from the bitter cold, she drew as close to him as she could. He smirked at her and wrapped his evening cloak around her. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he quietly led her off into the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hide, Seek, and Vanish</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pearl yawned and stretched sitting up in her bed. She’d had a good, long sleep and was feeling refreshed. She’s stayed up somewhat late, waiting for Little Taffy to come over, but had finally given up and went to bed.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hope she’s alright …” she muttered aloud.</p><p> </p><p>     Thinking that perhaps her friend had merely worn herself out with Toon Tasks and decided to just go home and crash, she quickly threw on a clean pair of clothes and hurried the short distance to Little Taffy’s house. She knocked once on the door and waited. There was no response.</p><p> </p><p>     With a worried expression she called out her friend’s name and knocked harder, again there was no answer. Opening the door she peered inside. Nothing seemed to be amiss. She called out, “Taffy, hello?” She looked around; there was no one in sight, “Oh no, where is she?”</p><p> </p><p>     She took a moment to collect her thoughts, trying to remain calm for as long as she possibly could in this situation. She deduced that perhaps Little Taffy had gone to their friend Roxy McSocks’s house, and decided to give the blue feline a call. She walked over to Taffy’s phone and dialed Roxy’s number.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy McSocks picked up the last soapy dish from the sink and rinsed it clean. That was it for the breakfast dishes. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and smiled before drying her hands on a dish towel nearby, then pulling her gloves back on. By now she was up for some snuggling with her beloved, when suddenly the phone rang. A little disheartened, she went over to the phone and answered it, “Hello?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hi Roxy, it’s Pearl,” replied the pink feline in a happy, yet strained tone.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, hi Pearl,” She smiled at hearing her friend’s voice, “What’s up?”</p><p> </p><p>      “Well, Little Taffy was supposed to come over last night and she never showed up. Then when I came to check her house this morning...she wasn't here. Is she at your house by chance?”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy frowned, “No, I haven’t seen her sense yesterday.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl groaned, and gnawed slightly on her lower lip, “This isn’t good…” she paused, “I hope something bad didn’t happen to her.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah, me too,” Roxy answered, now sounding a bit worried herself. It wasn’t like their green friend to just wander off without notice.</p><p> </p><p>     “Anyway, I’m going to check some other places for her, before I head back to my house. Let me know if anything turns up, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Will do, Pearl.”</p><p> </p><p>     “See ya Roxy, and tell Seven I said hi for me, will you?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I will, bye Pearl!”</p><p> </p><p>     With that Pearl hung up Little Taffy’s phone, and sighed. A moment later her stomach gave a low rumble of hunger, reminding her she’d not had breakfast yet. Pearl decided that her stomach could wait and if she really needed to she could grab something from one of the shops in her search. Without another though, Pearl headed out to look for her missing friend.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy hung up the phone, hearing the sound of footsteps walking up to her, she turned around and Telemarketer 118-7 was standing there. When he caught sight of her slightly worried features, he frowned and asked who had been on the other end.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, that was Pearl. She says hi. Wanted to know if Little Taffy was here…”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven pondered at what Roxy had just told him before Roxy continued, “She didn’t show up at Pearl’s house last night, and she isn’t home.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well that doesn’t sound promising…” he stated rather bluntly.</p><p> </p><p>     “No,” she frowned, “Now I’m worried too.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven thought for a moment more before speaking again, “Well it is close to Halloween, the Bloodsuckers' favourite time of the year. I wonder if perhaps one of them might have taken her?” he paused, “Though I’m a Sellbot, if indeed they have, there isn’t much I can do about it.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well, I’ll tell Pearl anyway, it’s the only possible lead we’ve got. She’s going out to look for her, but perhaps this will help her search?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’ll come with you then. Don’t want you disappearing on us either. And we might be able to catch her. If not then we can wait there for her.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy and Seven made their way down the cold cobblestone path of Silly Street. The morning air was bitingly cold, and the sky was clouded over, blocking the sun and all its warmth. There were no other Toons out at the moment, and Roxy didn’t blame them one bit.</p><p> </p><p>     “Brrr, it’s cold,” she shivered.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven smiled, looking a little smug, “It doesn’t bother me.”</p><p> </p><p>     “You’re a Cog, of course it doesn’t,” she answered back before wrapping her scarf more tightly around her neck.</p><p> </p><p>     They walked further down the street in silence and solitude but the other’s company, until Seven spotted a short distance away a Lawbot also taking a stroll in the freezing morning air, “Oh Roxy, wait a moment. I’m going to talk to that Bloodsucker and see if he knows anything.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Okay,” she smiled, “I’ll go wait over there for you Seven,” she said as she toddled over to a bench on the sidewalk and sat down. Seven nodded and hurried off to talk to the Bloodsucker down the street.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Bloodsucker 118-7 had been sitting on his perch from the roof tops all morning. Not one Toon had passed his way, and he was starting to get annoyed. Silently he cursed the cold weather for keeping the Toons inside that day.  Then again, he wasn’t supposed to be looking for Toons at the moment anyway. The cellblocks of Lawbot were full to capacity, and the C.J. had kindly informed him, his brother, the other Bloodsuckers, and every other Lawbot not to take in anymore for Trail.</p><p> </p><p>     He growled at remembering the announcement from a few days ago. How could he do this to them? Halloween was their day; he’d already taken away their fun, now he was taking away their tradition.</p><p> </p><p>     “Well it doesn’t matter. Come midnight on All Hallows Eve, we’ll have the last laugh, won’t we?” he smirked at the thought.</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly the sound of voices reached his ears. He looked down from the roof to see a Telemarketer and a short, blue feline Toon standing in the middle of the street talking. The Telemarketer pointed at something a short distance away, and headed in that direction. Seven’s eyes followed him down the street to where his younger brother, 118-8 was. His eyes shifted back to the Toon. She had seated herself on one of the benches on the side of the street. Finally, he’d been waiting for this all day. The propeller inside his head shot out, and he quietly glided down to the ground below.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy sat quietly on the bench, hugging her knees to her chest. She wished Seven would hurry and talk to the Bloodsucker so she could get someplace warmer. Maybe he’d concede to her snuggling up to him as they walked to go find Pearl? She smiled slightly at the thought, oblivious to the Bloodsucker creeping up to her.</p><p> </p><p>      Suddenly a strong gust of wind erupted out of nowhere. It blew Roxy’s hair everywhere, and caused her scarf to come loose from around her neck, “Uh oh,” she said, not wanting to have to chase the thing down in such bitter weather. Just as she was about to get up from the bench, a pair of hands gripped her shoulders tightly from behind.</p><p> </p><p>      “What the-“</p><p> </p><p>      Bloodsucker 118-7 smirked down at the Toon in his grasp. She was quite a catch. Her neck, it was so smooth and soft looking. He couldn’t resist, he had to, “Shhh, just relax, you won’t feel a thing,” he could already taste the ruby liquid that lay beneath her skin.</p><p> </p><p>     “W-who’s there?!” she said alarmed before turning her head slightly to face him, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates when she saw what was gripping her shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven frowned, “Now don’t be like that, I said relax.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy could feel every muscle in her body go rigid with fear, and in a high constricted voice she yelped, “I-I can’t…”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven continued frowning, if she was tense, biting her might cause him to make a mess of his suit, and then he’d likely be found out once he returned home. He grabbed hold of her chin and his eyes bore into hers, determined to get her to relax, “Yes you can…”</p><p> </p><p>     “N-No…” She whimpered, her eyes slightly clouding over with tears of fright, obscuring her vision.</p><p> </p><p>     Hypnotism obviously wasn’t going to work in this situation. He lowered his tone of voice and made it softer, “Just trust me like you do that Telemarketer over there...”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy was too frightened to reply now, her throat too constricted to let off a cry of help. The Bloodsucker was getting rather impatient with her, and figured the hell with it. He loomed closer to her neck, and sank his fangs into her soft flesh. Roxy let off a high pitched squeal of pain as his sharp, metal, teeth pierced her neck.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     “I keep telling you, I don’t know any Toons named Little Taffy,” 118-8 frowned at the Telemarketer.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven frowned back, determined to find something out that might aid their search, when Roxy’s squeal of pain reached his ears. He spun around to find Roxy with a Bloodsucker leaning over her, “Hey! You! That Toon is off limits!” Seven shouted, as he marched his way over.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker released his fangs and looked up at him, a trickle of ruby on the corner of his lips. Seven could not express in words the fury sweeping over him. He didn’t know who she should be angrier at. Roxy for not calling out for help before this happened, the Bloodsucker for even daring to lay a hand on her in the first place, or himself for thinking that leaving her alone was a good idea. He glared angrily at the Lawbot, and the Lawbot returned his glare. All the while, Roxy stayed quiet except for her soft whimpers.</p><p> </p><p>     “This Toon is under the protection from the Senior Vice President himself no less. Hands off and on your way,” growled the Sellbot.</p><p> </p><p>     “Very well…”  He smirked back, licking the drop of blood from his mouth, before he strode away down the street. Seven glared back at him until he turned a corner and could no longer see him.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy clung to Seven’s arm, whimpering with fright and pain. Her neck hurt something terrible. She just wanted the pain to stop. She also wanted to follow after that Bloodsucker. <em>Wait…what am I thinking? </em>She wondered to herself, still shaking from the bite. She looked up at Seven and wondered why she suddenly felt indifferent to his presence. He looked back at her and gave her a gentle hug, holding her close. She hugged back, not understanding why it now felt colder.</p><p> </p><p>     “It’s alright, he’s gone now Roxy,” Seven said in a soothing tone.</p><p> </p><p>     “H-he’s gone?” she stuttered.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes,” smiled the Telemarketer, “You’re safe now.” He looked at her bite and frowned slightly, “Now let’s get that wound tended to.”</p><p> </p><p>     Something wasn’t right, she could feel it. She needed an excuse to stay here, to see if he had stayed behind, out of sight, “We're nearly at Pearl's house. You go on, my scarf blew off.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven must have read her mind, “No, I'll get the scarf; you go on ahead to Pearl's house.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy tried to think of some other way she might be able to look for the Bloodsucker. That’s when she realized he had walked off in the same direction they had been heading before. She nodded, “Okay, I will.”</p><p> </p><p>     He smiled and kissed her softly, “Make sure to run from any more Bloodsuckers, all right?”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy didn’t seem to notice the kiss, “Yeah, will do,” she smiled back, not returning the kiss. Seven didn’t seem to mind, and then headed off to find her missing scarf.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy watched him walk down the street a short ways, before she too started walking away. She was no longer concerned with her scarf; she just wanted to see the Bloodsucker again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker, 118-7, sat on another roof nearby, his brother standing a short distance away, waiting impatiently, “Come on Seven, what’s one Toon going to make? Enough have already been captured for the big night.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I know that Eight, but she’s interesting. Not to mention simply delicious,” he licked his lips, still able to taste her blood. Eight rolled his eyes at his older sibling. Some days he just didn’t understand him at all. Then again he’d only become a Bloodsucker a few months ago; he was still a little bit new to some of their traditions. Though he couldn’t argue with Seven about one thing; Toon blood was…rather tasty.</p><p> </p><p>     He looked back at Seven who seemed to perk up slightly with delight. The Toon he was after must be nearing their location. Sure enough, Seven hopped off the edge and hovered down to the ground where the Toon was wandering.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>    </p><p>     118-7 spotted the blue feline from before, walking down the street, looking around somewhat frantically. <em>Aww how sweet, she’s looking for me. </em>He smiled to himself, before he hovered down to the ground below to intercept her. He landed a short distance from her, but she didn’t seem to have noticed this, until he reached out and pulled her closer to him, “There you are my dear…” he crooned.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy’s face about turned scarlet when he wrapped his arms around her. His touch was so inviting and comforting, she could almost feel the pain in her neck melt away from his very presence.  She to, wrapped her arms around him; purring with delight at the fact that he was warm.</p><p> </p><p>     The Lawbot lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Come with me…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Sure,” she replied with a very giddy smiled plastered on her face. He leaned down further in response to her answer, and gave her a soft, warm kiss on the lips, Roxy was only too happy to return it.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     “Ah ha, there it is,” Seven plucked a slightly dirt covered scarf from beneath a bush and dusted it off, pleased at himself for finding it, “Now I just need to go catch up with Roxy.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven set off at a fast walk down the street, eager to catch up with Roxy. He could have easily run to catch up, but he didn’t want to surprise her when she was likely in a bit of shock from the bite. As he rounded the corner his metaphorical heart about stopped at what he saw. There was his beloved; his Roxy. Only she was kissing another Cog, that Bloodsucker from before.</p><p> </p><p>     “R-Roxy…?” He stuttered quietly, unable to believe or grasp just what he was seeing. He could feel hot, oily tears brimming up in his eyes. And when the Bloodsucker broke off the kiss and led her off further down the street and out of sigh, he reached his breaking point. His tears fell, and bitter sobs overwhelmed the poor Telemarketer’s form.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven clung desperately to Roxy’s scarf. How could she do this after all the time they had spent together? Had what they shared meant nothing to her? He continued to stare blankly at the spot the two had been at, and his feeling of isolation grew and grew. He couldn’t stand it anymore. Something wasn’t right, but he didn’t seem to know how to process it. Without another thought, he weakly got to his feet, and made hast to find Pearl.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Unauthorized Activity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Pearl sighed as she walked down the street, looking for some trace of Little Taffy, that she couldn’t seem to find. She looked over at her Doodle, Illusion, who was still sniffing along the ground for some trace of her. Pearl sighed; Illusion was no blood hound. The odds of her finding any trace of Little Taffy were slim to none. Pearl walked over to a bench and sat down on it, her legs too short to reach the ground, so they dangled. Illusion waddled over and sat on the ground next to her.</p><p> </p><p>     Everything was quiet; there were no other Toons out. No Cogs either. It was just quiet. Pearl looked down at her feet and let them swing back and forth. Suddenly a very pitiful sound reached her ears and she perked up. Looking around she spotted the source of the noise. It was a dejected looking Telemarketer, wracked with grief…and wearing a blue scarf.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl slid off the bench and hurried over to him, “Seven, what’s wrong? You’re a wreck!”</p><p> </p><p>    He stopped and looked at her, sobbing like his heart was broken. He managed to stutter out through his tears, “R-Roxy . . . s-she left me f-f-for a Bloodsucker.”</p><p> </p><p>     “W-what,” Pearl could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>     “Y-you heard me,” he sobbed even harder.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven, wait, hold the phone,” Pearl pleaded, pulling the distressed Telemarketer into a hug, which he returned without hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl held onto him for a moment before asking, “I'm sure it's a misunderstanding?”</p><p> </p><p>     His tone and expression changed to being somewhat angry, “Misunderstanding!? They were kissing!”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl pulled away from him, her ears drooping slightly at the news, “Oh...Seven, I...” but she couldn’t find the words to finish her statement; and he once again became overwhelmed by his sobs. He even fell to his knees and wept into his hands.</p><p> </p><p>     Illusion looked over from her spot near the bench at the Cog. She cocked her head. She’d never known of a sad Cog before. But as Pearl had taught her, no one should be sad. So she waddled over to Seven to try and cheer him up. He did not look up at her when she had gotten closer, he just continued to sob. The purple, blue spotted Doodle whimpered at him and pawed at his arm, trying to get his attention.</p><p> </p><p>     The Telemarketer looked up from his hands to see the furry face looking back at him, “W-what do you w-want? Just leave me alone.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Doodle whimpered again at his response, not sure of how to answer such a negative tone. Pearl looked down at him and sighed, “I’m sorry,” then she turned to her Doodle, “Go away, shoo!”</p><p> </p><p>     But she would not be deterred. Instead, Illusion started dancing. Pearl groaned at her Doodle, “This is not the time or place for that, Illusion…go home, I’ll handle things from here.”</p><p> </p><p>     Illusion whimpered once more, but did as she was told. She dug a hole on the street, and teleported home. Seven continued to sob loudly. Pearl frowned and put a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>    </p><p>     “Come on Seven, seriously. Roxy wouldn’t do this to you”</p><p> </p><p>     “T-then why was she kissing him?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl frowned looking puzzled, “I'm not sure, what happened before you saw the kiss?”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven blinked, taking a moment to gather his thoughts for the first time in several minutes, “Um…a Bloodsucker bit her.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl sighed, finding the answer somewhat obvious, “Maybe that's why?”</p><p> </p><p>     At the news that his and Roxy’s relationship might not really be over, he began to calm down. Pearl gave a small smiled and patted his shoulder comfortingly. He looked up at her, feeling somewhat foolish for wasting so much oil on crying for such a thing that couldn’t possibly be true about Roxy.</p><p> </p><p>     “I…I wasn't thinking. It isn't like me…”</p><p> </p><p>     “It’s alright Seven, I’m not always the most logical thinker in stressful situations,” admitted Pearl.</p><p> </p><p>     “But…I let that Bloodsucker take her away,” Seven groaned as his sobs returned, and his tears began flowing once more.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl frowned at him again, “Seven, we'll get her back, calm thy self!”</p><p> </p><p>     It took a moment, but the Telemarketer managed to calm himself once again. Using Pearl for support, he also managed to get back to his feet. It was then that a thought hit the pink Toon, “You know that gets me wondering if they took Little Taffy also....”</p><p> </p><p>     “That's what I wondered too. Roxy and I went looking for you, so we could tell you.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well Seven, here’s the deal. If you help me get Little Taffy back, I'll help you get Roxy back,” Peal offered, holding out a hand to shake.</p><p> </p><p>     The Telemarketer smiled and grasped hold of her hand, shaking it firmly, “Deal.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>         Bloodsucker 606-6 looked down at the sleeping Toon that lay on the bed. He thought for sure he felt his heart ache. Yet he didn’t understand why. This mysterious green feline who he’d stumbled upon last night, whose name he didn’t even know, slept on peacefully; her chest lightly rising and falling. He dared reach out a hand, to lightly caress the side of her face. Her fur was so soft. And Six smiled as a familiar wave of phantom nostalgia passed over him.</p><p> </p><p>     Then a voice, like a shard of glass, pierced through the quiet room, “What are you doing Six?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six froze and his hand cringed away from her cheek. He slowly turned away from her to look at the door to his room. There was 606-5, his elder brother.</p><p> </p><p>     “I-I’m just making sure she’s asleep, Five.”</p><p> </p><p>     Five frowned, but nodded. He stepped further into the room and walked closer to the bed to examine the Toon his brother had taken prisoner and his frown hardened.</p><p> </p><p>     Six was quiet while his brother studied the Toon’s features. And she, as if sensing someone was watching her, shifted slightly in her sleep, and Six couldn’t help but smile slightly at it; a smile that he hid. Five looked over at him, a serious expression on his face, </p><p> </p><p>     “Just don't get attached to it,” Five stated.</p><p> </p><p>     Six’s smile faded at the comment his brother made, replaced with a frown laced with confusion, “What do you mean? Why would I get attached to a Toon?”</p><p> </p><p>     Five studied his face a moment before he smiled again, patting his little brother on the shoulder, “I jest, Six. Now then, I’ve got some assignments to do. Make sure our guest stays…comfortable.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I will,” Six nodded back.</p><p> </p><p>     “Good, I’ll be back in a little while. If she gives you any trouble, don’t hesitate to call Three or Four, alight?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six nodded again and watched his brother leave, shutting the door behind him. His gaze drifted back to that of the Toon and he thought he felt that phantom ache creeping back up on him. What was that and where was it coming from? Perhaps it was some fluke in his programing that he’d have the Forman look at later. Sighing, Six walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. The Toon shifted from the disturbance, and began to rouse from her sleep.</p><p> </p><p>     She blinked her eyes open, stretched in a cat like fashion, and sat upright. Six looked over at her and said with a slightly surprised tone, “Oh . . . You’re awake. . .”</p><p> </p><p>     She gave a big yawn and then smiled up at him. He smiled back at her and asked, “How are you?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I feel rested,” she replied with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>     “Good to hear,” Six smiled, ruffling her hair as she rubbed her cheek on his shoulder, purring loudly. Six listened to her soft purr for a moment, and it seemed to bring something to the forefront of his mind: a name.</p><p> </p><p>     “Lilly…” he muttered quietly.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy cocked her head, confused, “Lilly?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, um…” he paused, wondering where that had come from, “No one,” replied the Bloodsucker.</p><p> </p><p>     “Alright,” Taffy smiled back, a pensive look in her eyes still.</p><p> </p><p>     Six tried to think of something break the awkward silence that had suddenly washed over him, “Oh, I don’t believe I’ve caught your name.”</p><p> </p><p>     “It’s Little Taffy,” she answered, “And what might I call you, mysterious stranger?”</p><p> </p><p>     “My name’s 606-6, but please, call me Six.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Toon nodded and continued her purring. Little Taffy lightly caressed Six’s face, and smiled as he leaned into it. Then a frown slowly replaced it, when she saw a single tear running down the side of his face, “Six what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker was not aware he had shed the tear, until Little Taffy mentioned it to him. Blinking, the Cog wiped it away. He frowned and said it was nothing. Little Taffy was not entirely convinced, but she dismissed it and leaned in closer. She nuzzled into his warm chest, purring softly. Leaving Six to wonder just what was going on with him today.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Pearl and 118-7 walked quickly down the marbled halls of Lawbot Head Quarters. Pearl was clad in the signature navy blue suit of the Lawbots, while Seven had replaced his usual scarf with that of Roxy’s. Pearl kept looking at her reflection in the floor as they walked, admiring the fit of the suit on her.</p><p> </p><p>     “You know, I kind of like the Lawbot suit.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Good for you,” Seven replied, “Give me tartan burgundy any day.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl giggled at him and he smiled back. A short pause settled before Pearl brought up the question at the front of the Telemarketer’s mind, “So, you think we'll be able to get in and talk with the C.J.?”</p><p> </p><p>     The Sellbot sighed with uncertainty, “I can't say. The only thing we can do is hope we've caught him at a good time.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh that’s comforting Seven…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well I am just a mere Sellbot. Still since we've come all this way, the Second-in-command isn't likely to turn us away.”</p><p> </p><p>     “You mean you have. I'm supposed to be one, remember,” Pearl chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes, quite,” Seven smiled back, “Shall we continue onward?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes please!”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Finally after several minutes, the duo found themselves outside the office of Lawbot Second-in-command, 159-2. Seven took a deep breath before speaking up, “Here we are. Let’s wish ourselves luck…”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl crossed her fingers, hopping for the best as Seven reached out a hand and knocked three times on the oak door. A moment later, the somewhat commanding voice of 159-2 responded, “Enter.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl entered first and Seven followed after her, both looking curiously around Two’s office. The Lawbot Second-in-command was busily writing something and didn’t seem to notice that they had walked in until he asked still looking down at his paperwork, “How can I help you?”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven took another deep breath before he spoke, “I request an audience with the Chief Justice.”</p><p> </p><p>    159-2 stopped in his scrawling and looked up finally at the two in his office. The Big Wig frowned slightly and asked, “For what reason?”</p><p> </p><p>     “A Toon by the name of Roxy McSocks was taken into custody. She's under the protection of the Senior Vice President,” said Seven.</p><p> </p><p>     He stared at the Telemarketer with a blank look, “I wasn't aware we were taking prisoners.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl and Seven both exchanged a confused look before turning back toward the Lawbot. Seven frowned slightly, feeling a lump rise inside him, “You’re…not?”</p><p> </p><p>     Two shook his head which only made the lump in the Telemarketer’s chest get tighter. Something wasn’t right with this picture, why would they have taken Roxy without the knowledge of the higher ups?</p><p> </p><p>     “If our Lawbots are taking Toons into custody without authorization, this is a very serious matter indeed,” mused Two as he looked down at a schedule on his desk for the C.J., “One moment…oh, you’re in luck. There are no ongoing trials at the moment,” he put the schedule away and stood up, “Now follow me,” said the Big Wig, as he pointed at Seven, and nodded at Pearl that she was dismissed back to ‘work’.</p><p> </p><p>     Before Pearl left the office completely, she whispered into Seven’s ear as she walked past, “You focus on your meeting, I’ll find Roxy and Little Taffy,” she opened the door, and had disappeared into the hallway.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     The Lawbot Second-in-command led 118-7 down the halls to a pair of giant oak doors that led into the Chief Justice’s chambers. He raised a hand, gave three solid knocks on the door. There was a brief pause before the distinctive voice of the Chief Justice answered, “Come in?”</p><p> </p><p>     159-2 turned to the Telemarketer, “Wait here,” he commanded before walking inside the door to speak with the Chief Justice, “118-7 of the Sellbots is requesting an audience, Chief.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Send him in.”</p><p> </p><p>     He nodded and walked back to the door, and beckoned Seven to enter as well. Seven did so, if not somewhat hesitant to do so; seeing as this <em>was</em> the head of the Lawbots he was coming to speak with. He looked up at the large Lawbot as he slowly inched further in, and he looked somewhat curiously back a moment before asking, “Now then, what's this about? Since Two escorted you here himself without phoning through beforehand, I gather it's something important.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven relaxed his thoughts with another deep breath and began, “Roxy McSocks was taken into custody by a Bloodsucker, your honour. She's under-” but the C.J. cut him off.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes, yes, I know who she is. Though Two, I wasn't aware we were taking prisoners at the moment,” the Lawbot boss looked over at his second, frowning slightly.</p><p> </p><p>     Two frowned back, “Neither was I.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Unauthorized arrests…perplexing,” Chief said, bemused and getting lost in his thoughts for a moment before shaking them and continuing, “Two, take 118-7 to the jail block and see if you can find Miss McSocks, as well as any additional Toons that were not there yesterday and report back.”</p><p> </p><p>     He nodded, “Will do,” Two turned toward Seven, “Come then 118-7.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes Sir,” Seven responded somewhat eagerly as he followed the Big Wig out of the C.J.’s office. Wanting desperately to find Roxy to make sure she was alright, and hold her in his arms once more.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     “Hmmm...Now, if I were a Bloodsucker...where would I hide a Toon?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl thought this aloud as she headed down the hallways, trying to think of the best place to start looking in case Roxy wasn’t in the jail blocks. She looked from door to door, not seeing any places that could be considered inconspicuous. The door labels she passed read things like: cleaning closet, break rooms, offices and the like. She sighed, not knowing how long this would take, but she was willing to take as long as it needed to find her friends.</p><p> </p><p>     Not watching where she was going, the Toon suddenly collided with something solid in front of her, “Oof!”</p><p> </p><p>     The harsh voice of a Cog reached her ears, “Watch it!”</p><p> </p><p>     She rubbed her nose, “Sorry…” she said before looking more closely at who she had bumped into. Her heart about stopped when she saw it was a Bloodsucker. He glared at her.</p><p> </p><p>     “And just where are you off to in such a hurry?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl struggled to find an excuse for having run into him, “I'm...uh...looking for someone!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Who might that be,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>     <em>Need an answer, fast…</em>Pearl thought, “Uh...my brother,” she said, it being the best excuse she could come up with; followed by the first Cog name that popped into her thoughts, “My brother 118-7!”</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker frowned angrily at her, “I'm 118-7...and you don't look like any sibling of mine…”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, “Oh snap, seriously?!”</p><p> </p><p>     At seeing the fear grow in her eyes from having been discovered, 118-7 smirked maliciously at her, “Oh yes, I am.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl swallowed her heart that had now risen into her throat as the Bloodsucker started to inch closer to her, still smirking. Pearl felt frozen for a brief moment, but managed to find the feeling in her legs.</p><p> </p><p>     “I'm...gonna go now,” And she bolted.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Pearl didn’t check to see if the Bloodsucker was following her or not, she just kept running down the hallway into the shutdown section of the Head Quarters. She passed a few doorways in her mad dash before finally ripping one open and hiding inside. Breathing hard, she slumped against the door, trying to find her bearings.</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly, another voice broke the silence, “Huh? Who’s there?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl held her breath. That wasn’t a Cog voice, it was a Toon voice. She spun around to find Roxy. She squealed, hugging her friend as tightly as she possibly could; causing her friend to cough from the gush of air leaving her lungs.</p><p> </p><p>     “I thought I’d never see you again!”</p><p> </p><p>     After Roxy had composed herself she blinked once, realized it was her friend and let off a squeal of happiness as well, “Pearl!” She gave her a hug back.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl released the blue cat and looked at her in the eyes, “What are you doing here?”</p><p> </p><p>     She frowned, looking puzzled, “I don't know. I just woke up.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven's worried sick about you...he says some Bloodsucker carted you off, guess he was right.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh…” Roxy said, continuing to frown as she rubbed the spot on her neck where she had been bitten at.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl cocked her head, “Is that where you go bitten at?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Come on, we should get you out of here before someone finds me...I already almost got busted by Seven's Lawbot name double.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy blinked, “…No.”</p><p> </p><p>     “We could probably-wait...what do you mean ‘no’?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t want to go,” Roxy stated.</p><p> </p><p>     ‘W-what? Roxy, why not?” Pearl asked.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy didn’t answer, instead her eyes shifted to something behind her pink friend, and morphed into the glazed, blissful look they’d had before. Pearl raised an eyebrow and her friend.</p><p> </p><p>     “What's wrong with you face Roxy?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Ah, you two know each other, how nice,” rang the familiar voice of the Bloodsucker Pearl had run into earlier. She froze, a chill radiating up her neck.</p><p> </p><p>     She slowly turned to look back to confirm it was him, “Oh boy…” she flinched at the sight of him, and also at the purring coming from Roxy, “Wait, don't tell me...this is your room, and you're the one who took Roxy?”</p><p> </p><p>     He smirked at her. Pearl gulped as a nervous sweat started forming on her brow.</p><p> </p><p>     “Well sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. 118-7 of the Lawbot variety. But Roxy's coming with me,” she glared grabbing her love sick blue friend by the wrist and attempted to pull her towards the exit.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy struggled against her grip, “I don’t want to!”</p><p> </p><p>    “Come on Roxy, I know you don’t really love this jerk!”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy looked slightly offended, “What are you talking about? Of course I do…”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl was getting desperate by now and whispered to Roxy, “What about Telemarketer 118-7? You know, burgundy tartan suit, blue scarf? Snide, sarcastic personality complete with authentic British accent?”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy cocked her head, “What about him?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl gave a frustrated sigh before saying in a forced calm tone, “Look Roxy I know you don’t really love this bloodsucking fiend, pun intended. You’ve been put into some sort of trance!”</p><p> </p><p>     “That’s a lie,” Roxy hissed.</p><p> </p><p>     The Pink Toon growled angrily, “Snap out of it already!” Pearl then proceeded to slap Roxy hard across her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy was stunned she reached a hand to her cheek that was now stinging painfully, and a bright red to match the pain, “Ow…” her eyes started watering and she ripped her arm free of Pearl’s grasp to cling to Seven’s arm, “Y-you hit me!”</p><p> </p><p>    Seven frowned slightly, “Yes, I saw...Don't worry Ms. Roxy, I'll not let it go unpunished,” he said, smirking at Pearl rather nastily.</p><p> </p><p>     “Uh oh…why are you looking at me like that?” Pearl gulped fearfully under his gaze.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Until the Blood Runs Dry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pearl struggled against her captor’s hold as he dragged her down the hall way, “Let me go!” She shouted trying with all her might to break free of 118-7’s grasp on her shoulders. The Lawbot growled, having difficult holding onto the Toon.</p><p> </p><p>     “Stop struggling! It will make it less painful for the both of us…” Seven hissed, digging his fingers into her shoulders. Pearl yelped in pain and stopped her squirms. Seven grinned, “That’s better.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Where are you taking me?” Pearl hissed.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker smirked down at her, a hungry look in his eyes, “You’ll soon find out.”</p><p> </p><p>     “And where are you going, pray tell?”</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 froze in his tracks and whipped his head around to face, to his horror, Lawbot Second-in-command 159-2. Not only that, but that meddlesome Telemarketer with the blue scarf from before had followed him here. His thoughts raced for an explanation about what he was doing. Desperately trying to not let the truth slip out.</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m taking her to the jail blocks, she's a Toon is disguise,” Seven blurted out.</p><p> </p><p>     The Big Wig nodded, “Very good. Only we are not currently arresting Toons, even for trespassing and or spying.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Um, shall I let her go then, Sir?” The Bloodsucker asked, playing dumb.</p><p> </p><p>     Two’s palm met with his forehead, “No. You throw her out. What do they teach you in basic training these days?”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven gave a nervous grin at his superior, “Right away Sir,” he saluted before he began dragging Pearl back off again in the direction 159-2 and the Telemarketer had come from. When he had got a decent distance ahead, he rounded a corner that led away from the entrance.</p><p> </p><p>     When they turned the corner, and started heading down a different hallway, Pearl began to suspect something was amiss, “Wait a second, he said throw me out…”</p><p> </p><p>     “What 159-2 doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, I’ve got better things to do with you then throw you outside where you could potentially cause us more problems…”</p><p> </p><p>     “What does that mean…?” Pearl asked, struggling once more.</p><p> </p><p>     “Let’s just say, you won’t be alive long enough to worry about it,” Seven sneered, making Pearl’s skin crawl.</p><p> </p><p>     “That’s it, I’m out of here…Seven! Seven help-MURPH!” Pearl started to shout but the hungry Bloodsucker quickly covered her mouth to silence her screams.</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t think so…” he snarled as he got to the edge of another corner and peered around it in time to see the other two Cogs parting ways.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Second-in-command 159-2 scowled after the Bloodsucker as he dragged the Toon clad in their attire away from his sight before turning back to the Telemarketer, “Anyway, you are free to go, 118-7. This is a Lawbot affair now. Though if she does turn up, you'll be the first to know; on your way.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes Sir,” Seven replied and watched his form recede away as he headed back to the C.J. before starting to walk himself. He walked a short distance when he realized he didn’t see the Bloodsucker that had managed to nab Pearl, something he wasn’t very surprised about. <em>But…where are they?</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>It was then that a muffled scream reached his ears. He turned sharply around in time to see the same Bloodsucker slip from one end of the hall to the other hauling a gagged Pearl with him. At the sight of the pair, he quickly took off after them. She had become a dear friend to him. Not quite in the way Roxy had, but he couldn’t bear the thought of something bad happening to the pink feline either.</p><p> </p><p>     <em>Don’t worry Pearl, I’ll save you…</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>     Lawbot 118-7 dragged Pearl to what looked like an ordinary wall. He looked around the hallway to check to see if any other Lawbots were headed in his direction. When he saw no one, Seven rhythmically tapped on the wall. It lifted upwards, revealing a hidden room behind it. Seven smirked down at Pearl once more before he started dragging her inside. The moment he had passed the threshold of the door way, it began to descend.</p><p>     The moment the door started closing, Seven made a run for it. Sprinting as fast as he could, he felt a brief moment of panic when he realized he might not make it in time. He reached the final stretch, he slid, and managed just to zip through in the nick of time, He looked back at the door just to see it quietly touch settle back down.</p><p> </p><p>     “Phew. That was close,” he whispered to himself as he cautiously peered around the corner.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>     </p><p>     “Eight, are you in here?” Bloodsucker 118-7 called out to his younger brother, his voice echoing throughout the cavernous space.</p><p> </p><p>     118-8 poked his head out from the inner workings of a large machine console. The machine was connected to several large holding tanks. He looked around for a moment not spotting the source of the voice, “Seven is that you?” He asked.</p><p> </p><p>     His brother came into view a moment later, dragging with him a feline Toon clad in a Lawbot suit. He grinned over at his younger sibling, “Yes it’s me, and I come bearing gifts,” he gestured to the Toon in his grasp that had the makings of tears of fright in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, nice catch Seven,” Eight grinned excitedly. After having worked on the machine for several hours, he was feeling rather famished.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven beamed with pride, “I agree; let’s hook her up, shall we? It’s been a while since we tested this, after all.”</p><p> </p><p>     “With pleasure!”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>    </p><p>     Seven frowned as he listened in on the two brothers, “This doesn’t sound good…” He peeked out a little more to see what they were up to.</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 ripped the sleeves of Pearl’s suit before he and his younger sibling hauled her onto a large, slab-like table. Cuff like restraints snapped around Pearl’s wrists and waist. Unable to move, she could only lay there, futility trying to squirm free. The elder of the two walked over to the controls of the machine, hit a series of buttons and started the machine sequence. Two panels on the sides of the table opened up and several long tubes tipped with sharp needle points came out of them. The tubes buried themselves into both of Pearl’s arms, and the sides of her neck.</p><p> </p><p>     The helpless Toon shrieked in pain, “W-what are you doing to me?!”</p><p> </p><p>     That was enough for Seven. Without another though, the Telemarketer stepped from behind the wall and shouted at the two Bloodsuckers.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hey you, stop!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven!?” Pearl cried happily at the sound of her friend’s voice.</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 whipped around from the control panel in surprise; when he saw who had spoken his eyes lit up with fury, “You! How did you get in here?!”</p><p> </p><p>     “I followed you,”  Seven smirked at him, “Now then, step away from the machine.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker snarled with rage. How dare a Sellbot intrude into their affairs? It concerned only the Bloodsuckers for Halloween was their day.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why should I?” He glared angrily.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven almost looked appalled for hearing such a question, “This is barbaric. Cogs don't kill Toons!”</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker snorted, “You act as though the Toons don’t kill us! There was time it was permitted…a long time ago. Before the Chief Justice was fully constructed, the Master allowed it. Then, when <em>he</em> took over he decided a change was in order. We were no longer allowed to bite Toons. We’re Lawbots, and Lawbots are supposed to uphold the law...” his fists clenched tightly, “But he allowed us to at least capture them on Halloween, except we were not to harm them. However…things changed recently…”</p><p> </p><p>     “How so,” asked the Telemarketer. Seven moved a bit closer to where Pearl lay tied down.</p><p> </p><p>     “You see, our cells are full due to other Lawbots arresting more Toons this month than usual. And so the Chief Justice proclaimed that our yearly capturing could not take place this time. A problem that could have easily been solved by letting some of the current prisoners that had less serious offenses free. But he ignored our suggestion, and told us his decision was final…” He finished, looking up at the Sellbot; a deep seeded anger in his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven stared blankly at him, unable to believe what he had heard. The Lawbot Master had actually let them kill Toons once upon a time long ago. He felt sick and disgusted at such a thought. His Bloodsucker cousin glared at his expression angrily, “I wouldn’t expect you to understand you’re not a Bloodsucker.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I can’t imagine the Chief Justice understands very well either…” he frowned.</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 smirked, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him…”</p><p> </p><p>     As he had suspected as much; this machine was a secret to the Lawbot Boss. Seven’s face morphed into sheer disgust, “To disregard your superior? It’s Outrageous!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Humph, it wasn’t very nice of him to throw out our feelings on the matter either! It’s time he learned our opinions on the whole affair.”</p><p> </p><p>     “But to go behind his back on the issue with something like this…you call yourselves Lawbots?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl looked between the two Cogs before speaking out, “If you two are done, get me out of this damn thing, will you?!”</p><p> </p><p>     The Scarf wearing Sellbot looked over at his shackled friend and nodded, “Yes, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t think so!” snarled the agitated Lawbot as he pressed an activation switch.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl let off a terrified shriek at the machine stared up. Seven froze in place, unsure of what he should do. His thoughts raced. If he had to fight Seven for the controls, he might lose too much time. His eyes shifted to the needled stuck into Pearl’s arms and neck. It would be painful and risky, but it had to be done. In a flash the Telemarketer grabbed two of the wires and ripped them out. The resulted pain stricken howl from Pearl made Seven grimace an apology. He took care to be gentler with the rest.</p><p> </p><p>     Eight looked at him horrified not sure what to do, “Stop that!”</p><p> </p><p>     His brother’s palm met his forehead, “Eight don’t just stand there, make him stop!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Uh, right,” Eight said regaining his composure, and then attempted to restrain the Sellbot. However, Seven being a speed set Cog could easily run from one side of the table to the other with no trouble to remove the needles in Pearl’s arms. Thus dodging Eights attempts to apprehend him.</p><p> </p><p>     “Darn it Seven, he’s a speed set. I can’t catch him!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven, hurry!” Pearl whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>     “Almost finished…there!” The Telemarketer declared as he removed the last needle from Pearl. He looked over at a furious Bloodsucker by the control panel and glared back at him, “Now then, how do you remove these shackles?” He asked his tone calm.</p><p> </p><p>    “And why should I tell you?”</p><p> </p><p>    “Because, it’d be a shame if I somehow damaged the machine trying to find a way to free her.”</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 snorted, “There’s a release switch on the underside of the table…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Thank you,” Seven said easily finding the red button and pressing it. The shackles recoiled at once.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl tried slowly to sit upright, and about fell off the table trying to do so. Luckily Seven was there to catch her.</p><p> </p><p>    “Easy there Pearl, you’ve lost quite a bit of blood.”</p><p> </p><p>    “I…just want to go home now…” she said weakly, tears in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “Alright…” he smiled sadly helping her down off the table.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>    </p><p>     Eight watched somewhat helplessly as their meal got off the table and was about to walk out and leave. He turned to look at his brother who looked like he had become a tea kettle about to come to a boil.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven?”</p><p> </p><p>     “What?” He snapped back.</p><p> </p><p>    Eight flinched at his tone before asking, “What do we do now?”</p><p> </p><p>    Seven frowned at his brother, “Let them go.”</p><p> </p><p>    The Telemarketer looked back and frowned at him, “Though I'm sure the Chief Justice will be most interested to find out what you lot have been up to.”</p><p> </p><p>     He grinned at him, showing his fangs, “It's a shame by the time you tell him, Ms. Roxy will have already been exposed to the machine.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven’s metaphorical heart about stopped, “No…don’t you dare!”</p><p> </p><p>     His grin widened, “Only if you leave me with no other choice.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven hung his head in defeat, “Fine…”</p><p> </p><p>     “That’s what I thought,” he chuckled coldly.</p><p> </p><p>     “Make no mistake though, I will come back for her,” the Sellbot sneered.</p><p> </p><p>      “It will be most amusing to see you try, cousin,” the Bloodsucker smirked back, “Now then, both of you may get out of my sight!”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven sighed, “Come on Pearl, let’s go…” he said quietly. Pearl groaned, but nodded. She leaned on him for support and the pair left the room without another word. Seven swallowed back the lump in his throat. He’d find a way to save Roxy as soon as he got Pearl to safety.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy was happily cuddled beneath Six’s suit jacket on the bed. She was peacefully asleep once more, purring lightly. Six was diligently watching over her as she snoozed. They had spoken for a while before she’d drifted back off. And Six couldn’t help but feel like he had known this Toon for a long time. This made no sense. He’d never seen this Toon before in his life. So then why?</p><p> </p><p>     Six shook his head. He was going to have to get his hard drive checked later that day. Something was definitely off with him. It was almost like he had forgotten something. What that could be, he hadn’t a clue.  Sighing he paced about the room, wracking his brain for an answer he couldn’t find. Eventually, his footsteps roused the room’s other occupant.</p><p> </p><p>     Taffy’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, smiling contently. Six paused to look at her and smiled back. The Lawbot walked closer to the bed and sat down once more. She handed him back his jacket and he took it with a nod of acknowledgement. As he was putting it back on, he heard a noise come from the Toon. When he looked over, she was blushing.</p><p> </p><p>     “Gosh, I’m sorry about that! Guess I’m hungrier then I realized…”</p><p> </p><p>     Six chuckled and patted her on the head, “Not to worry, Miss Taffy. I took the liberty of going to get you some food while you were resting.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Lawbot gestured to a nightstand where a large slice of crème pie and a glass of water was sitting. Taffy’s eyes lit up as she snatched the plate and quickly devoured the dessert. She stopped when she noticed Six looking at her; surprised evident on his pale face. Feeling his gaze on her, Little Taffy stopped mid bite, slowly shutting her mouth. She blushed again at having made a pig of herself in front of the Cog, and her ears fell.</p><p> </p><p>     Six chuckled a bit, “Goodness, I suppose you were famished,” he stopped when he noticed a bit of crème on Taffy’s cheek, “Hold still a moment.”</p><p> </p><p>     Six removed a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped at the spot from her cheek. Little Taffy smiled at him, nuzzling his hand when he had finished. Six returned the smile briefly, and then frowned when something flashed through his mind. He saw Little Taffy, in the same room they were in now. Only she seemed tired; weaker even. She was trying to eat a piece of cake, but was having difficulty. Six extended his hand, taking the fork from her and lifting the food into her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy snuggled into his chest, jarring him from his thoughts. He blinked, holding his head, wondering what in the world that had been. The Toon seemed to sense his distress and looked up at him.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six? Are you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hm? Oh, I was just thinking…”</p><p> </p><p>     “About?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Have we…ever met before?” The Cog asked.</p><p> </p><p>     The feline pondered a moment, picking her brain. But she couldn’t recall ever having met this particular Cog before. The only one she really knew very well was 118-7, and he was a Sellbot.</p><p> </p><p>     “Not that I remember,” she replied, “Why do you ask?”</p><p> </p><p>     “No reason, just…a feeling.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, alright,” she said, rubbing at the remaining sleep still in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     Six looked at her a moment, before standing back up. He just couldn’t shake the nagging feeling at the back of his mind, and it was driving him near mad trying to figure out what it was. The Cog rubbed at his temples, growling lightly. It was like his memory was hitting a brick wall every time he tried to think back. There was definitely something wrong. Maybe he’d have to make that trip to Maintenance and Repair sooner then he’d anticipated. But what was he to do about the Toon while he was gone?</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy tapped his arm, rousing him from his thoughts, and he looked back at her.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seriously, are you alright? You can tell me…”</p><p>    </p><p>     “I’m…I’m not sure anymore. I think I need to leave for a bit…”</p><p> </p><p>     The Toon’s eyes seemed to get very sad, “If it’s something I did-”</p><p> </p><p>     “No it’s not anything you did,” the Cog sighed, “I’m just not feeling like myself today, is all.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well, then maybe I can help?” She offered, standing up next to him.</p><p> </p><p>     “I really don’t think there’s anything you can-”</p><p> </p><p>     Six’s words were cut off when Little Taffy pulled him into a kiss. His head felt like it was spinning. He knew this was wrong. Everything he’d been taught told him it was. But there was also something familiar about it; almost comforting. And the Lawbot didn’t have the will to pull away. He slowly put his arms around the Toon, and pulled her closer. The two were so encompassed in the other’s embrace, that they didn’t notice the door open.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six are you-What <em>are </em>you doing?!”</p><p> </p><p>     At the sound of his brother’s voice, Six finally felt himself snap back to reality, and shoved Little Taffy off of him. The Toon stumbled back, landing on the floor with a thump.</p><p> </p><p>     “N-nothing!”</p><p> </p><p>     606-2 glowered at him, “Not again, Six!”</p><p> </p><p>     Six frowned with confusion, “…Again?”</p><p> </p><p>     Two pinched the bridge of his nose, “Forget it…I suppose you won’t object to me taking your…<em>friend</em> with me?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six growled, embarrassed at the accusation, “She’s…not my friend.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy looked up at him from her spot on the floor, her voice warbling, “I’m…not?”</p><p> </p><p>     A pang of remorse shot through him, and Six did his best to conceal it. Two snorted angrily and looked directly at his brother.</p><p> </p><p>     “Whatever. I don’t much care to hear an excuse” he paused, “So I’ll be taking your quarry with me and be on my way. Hopefully it will keep you out of anymore trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>     Six sighed and looked down, “I’m sorry, Two. It just…sort of happened.”</p><p> </p><p>    “That’s the same excuse you used last time…” his brother muttered.</p><p> </p><p>     “What are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Never mind, it’s inconsequential,” Two snapped, hauling Little Taffy to her feet, causing her to yelp.</p><p>    </p><p>     “Let go of me!” she hissed, trying to tug her arm free. Two ignored her.</p><p> </p><p>     Six frowned at his brother, “No it isn’t. Ever since this Toon has been here, something hasn’t felt right with my memory banks. And I want to know why!”</p><p> </p><p>     Remorse flickered in Two’s eyes before they returned to their stony solace, “Perhaps you should ask One?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Perhaps I will…”</p><p> </p><p>     Without another word, Two turned to take his leave, dragging Taffy reluctantly after him. The Toon struggled in the Bloodsucker’s grasp as he walked, but couldn’t get him to relinquish his hold on her arm. She turned back to look at Six, calling out his name. Six glanced back at her, his face unreadable.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six, please! I don’t want to go with him!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Sorry…” was all he could muster.</p><p> </p><p>     Taffy stared at him as Two continued to drag her from the room; her eyes welling over with tears. She started screaming at him to help her, and Six felt his head start to buzz. Taffy’s image waned; her clothes were much darker, black in fact. She had on a pair of stripped arm warmers that went almost to her shoulders. And her hair was dyed blue at the ends.</p><p> </p><p>     A sharp pain went through his hard drive, and he clutched at his chest. His knees gave out from the sensation, and he hit the floor. He looked back in time to see his brother cup his hand tightly over her mouth, then drag the Toon around the corner and out of sight. Six took a moment to collect himself; the pain ebbing down to a prickle.</p><p> </p><p>     “L-Li….Lilly…” Six frowned the moment the name left his lips, “Where did that name come from?”</p><p> </p><p>     Two’s words echoed in his head. Perhaps now was as good a time as any to ask One. Hey prayed to the Masters that One would have the answers he sought. When the last pin pricks of ache had subsided, he got to his feet and went to seek out his eldest brother.</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     “Ow…” Pearl whimpered as 118-7 bandaged her arms up.</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m sorry…” he winced.</p><p> </p><p>     “I-it’s alright,” she replied.</p><p> </p><p>     When he had finished patching her up, he looked her in the eyes and asked, “Are you feeling any better?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I still don’t feel good…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Perhaps we should get you proper medical treatment. I’m not exactly a licensed professional. I can take you there if-”</p><p> </p><p>     The pink Toon shook her head, “We don’t have time for that. I’ll be alright,” Pearl sighed heavily, “We need to figure out what to do. Roxy and Little Taffy…”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven’s features became briefly distraught at the mention of Roxy in the clutches of such a barbaric Cog. He didn’t care what it took or cost him, he would make sure she got out of there safely before such a thing could be done to her. Yet that made the Sellbot wonder: If such a machine was in their possession, why had they not used it on Roxy?</p><p> </p><p>     As if reading his mind, Pearl spoke up, “What I don't understand is…why is it that Roxy has been spared this long?”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven thought for a moment, when idea surfaced, “Perhaps they are going to drain all their captive Toons at once?”</p><p> </p><p>     And then the answer, it hit Pearl like an anvil. She sat upright, but perhaps a little too quickly. She instantly felt dizzy, and began to pitch sideways off the couch.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven reached out his hand to steady her, “Easy now, you’ll hurt yourself,” he cautioned gently pushing her back onto the couch, “What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>     “That must be it. Remember what your cousin said about their yearly tradition being taken away? They kidnap Toons leading up to and on Halloween; so they must be waiting to do it all on the same day, like you said.”</p><p> </p><p>     “That seems like the most logical reason,” Seven paused as he realized what day it was, “It’s the day before Halloween…”</p><p> </p><p>     “That means we only have a few hours left. Seven, we have to do something!”</p><p> </p><p>     “We can’t….you know what will happen to Roxy if we do,” the Sellbot frowned looking torn.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven they’re going to do that to her anyway! There’s got to be a way we can stop them.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought, but he kept coming up blank, “I can’t think straight right now…”</p><p> </p><p>     “That should be my excuse,” Pearl groaned, trying to think, but she still felt woozy from blood loss. Perhaps there was something he could go and look up that they could use? It was worth a shot, “Hey Seven, does Sellbot have a library? Maybe there’s something there we can use?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes we do, only it’s called the Archives.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl nodded, “Good, go and look something up that we might find useful or informative. I’m too weak to go with you though…”</p><p> </p><p>     “What am I looking for,” the Telemarketer asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t know, look for something about when the Bloodsuckers had free domain to kill Toons and bite them. Maybe look for a way to reverse whatever has been done to Roxy.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Alright I’ll see what I can find. Rest well Pearl,” he smiled, ruffling her hair before heading for the door to scour the Sellbot Archives for anything useful. When the door clicked closed, Pearl shut her eyes and soon found herself asleep.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy sighed and sat up from 118-7's bed, “What's taking him so long?” she grumbled pulling her knees to her chest and staring at her toes. She wriggled them, feeling bored and alone. With a frustrated sigh she hopped off the bed and left the room to search for him, “Where could he be I wonder.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy wandered aimlessly down the hallway, not sure where to look at all. Frowning she started to think she’d never find him. That’s when she heard a hushed, and agitated sounding conversation getting under way.</p><p> </p><p>     “How could you have been so careless, Seven?!”</p><p> </p><p>     “If one word of this gets back to the Chief Justice, our plans are a bust!!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Now calm down. Seven made our cousin swear not to tell a soul. He seems to have a soft spot for the Toon Seven captured. I believe her name is Roxy McSocks.”</p><p> </p><p>     At the mention of her name, Roxy inched closer to the door to hear the conversation better.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes, well we best hope it’s soft enough to keep him from trying anything rash. Lest we want a repeat of what almost happened with 606-6…”</p><p> </p><p>     “We are not going to have a repeat of what happened with Six, One!”</p><p> </p><p>     That was Seven’s voice! Roxy pushed her ear even further into the door as the argument continued.</p><p> </p><p>     “Can you be sure of that? As attached as our cousin was to the Toon, I highly doubt he’s just going to forget about her. Perhaps we should have followed the 606 batch’s initiative, and detained him so we could wipe his memory.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy frowned at that comment and backed away from the door a bit before bumping into something behind her. She looked up and came face to face with the second youngest in Seven’s batch, 118-8.</p><p> </p><p>     “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to leave the room!”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy squeaked in surprised and tried to flee, but ended up tumbling right into the door with a loud thump. The door shuddered, alerting the assembled Bloodsuckers in the other room.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>     “Who’s that?!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Someone’s at the door…”</p><p> </p><p>     The door opened a moment later, and in tumbled Roxy, followed closely by Eight. He shut the door quickly, hoping that neither of them had been seen. When Seven caught sight of Roxy, his mild annoyance turned to rage. He stomped over to her and his little brother. Roxy’s ears went back when she saw the look in his eyes, and she took a step back.</p><p>   </p><p> “What is she doing in here Eight?! She’s supposed to stay in our room!”</p><p> </p><p>     “I-I don’t know,” he stammered, “She was outside the door when I got here!”</p><p> </p><p>     “You were supposed to watch her until I got back!”</p><p> </p><p>     “I was lonely…” she quietly interjected, earning her a piercing glare from Seven.</p><p> </p><p>     “I don't care if you were lonely, I told you to stay put!”</p><p> </p><p>    Roxy’s eyes started to fill with tears, “But you never said where you were going. Or how long you’d be gone…”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven gave a frustrated growl, “That is of no concern to you. Not to mention, I can’t have you following me around the Head Quarters!”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy’s tears began to spill over, “B-but all I wanted was to know where you were. I wanted to spend time with you-”</p><p> </p><p>     “Spend time with me?” He sneered, “As if I would ever want to spend extended amounts of time with a Toon!”</p><p> </p><p>     “But you said-”</p><p> </p><p>     “What I’ve said to you means <em>nothing</em>. Because that’s what you are to me. You and every other Toon! You are merciless savages who do nothing but kill our kind each and every day! And I will not rest until you have all breathed your last!” He hissed, grabbing Roxy by the front of her shirt, pulling her to eye level, “And that includes you…”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy burst into full blown tears and shoved the Bloodsucker away from her. She turned tail and fled the room, pushing past Eight as Seven hit the ground. Seven growled and looked at his younger brother, standing there frozen in the doorway.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why didn’t you stop her?!”</p><p> </p><p>     Eight just stared at Seven, seeming frightened of his brother. Seven glared at him as he got back on his feet.</p><p> </p><p>     “What are you staring at?”</p><p> </p><p>     Eight remained silent, looking at the floor. Seven snorted looking back at the rest of his siblings. His face softened a bit when he saw the same looks on their faces: fear, confusion, and concern.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven, I’ve…never heard you speak in such a way before,” said Five.</p><p> </p><p>     “Nor have I. It’s not like you to show such a poor display of tact,” 118-1 added.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven grumbled at them, “Oh do shut up…”</p><p> </p><p>     One glared at him, “And remind me to have a private conversation with you on this matter when our affairs have concluded for the evening as well.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Whatever you say, One.” Seven scoffed, pushing past Eight as he left the room. He had a Toon to locate before she too managed to escape.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Roxy leaned sobbing against a wall, her tears starting to stop. The strange sense of abandonment that she’d been feeling was now going away as well. She couldn’t explain why, but she was suddenly feeling normal again. The fog she’d been walking around in all morning had lifted. The Toon looked around and remembered where she was. Not exactly the safest place to just be standing around.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh man, I’ve got to get out of here…” she whispered to herself aloud before taking off down the hallway toward the exit. She had to let Seven, her real Seven, know she was alright.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     606-1 looked up from the book he was reading when his brother approached. He gave him a smile, and nodded in acknowledgment before closing his book. It would be good to have someone to speak to; having to drown out the whimpers of the caged Toons behind him was starting to get tiresome. Six, however, didn’t seem like he was in the mood for light conversation. His face was distraught; his hair a bit disheveled, as though he’d been tugging at it.</p><p> </p><p>     “You seem troubled, Six. What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’ve been noticing something’s wrong with me…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Well perhaps we should make a trip down to Maintenance-”</p><p> </p><p>     Six shook his head, “I was fine until this morning. That Toon I captured the other night, I can’t say why, but her presence here has caused my memory banks to go haywire. I haven’t felt right all day, and….Two said to ask you why.”</p><p> </p><p>     One’s face was unreadable, “Did he now?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah. I’m not really sure what’s going on at all…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Why not start from the beginning. You started feeling off this morning, right?”</p><p> </p><p>      “Yes. I can’t really say for certain, but I feel like I’ve met Miss Taffy before,” Six paused when he saw the skeptical look on One’s face before he continued, “I know it’s illogical. I’ve never seen her before in my life. Yet I can’t shake this nagging in the back of my mind…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Perhaps you’re just tired and mistaking it for something else?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six shook his head, “No. This isn’t fatigue. I know it’s not. I’ve had flashes where I’ve seen us together. But it feels…fractured. Like I’m not remembering all the details…”</p><p> </p><p>     One looked off to the side, scratching at the back of his head, “Can’t say I know what they are. Is there anything more specific that you can recall?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m not sure…I…I remember a name, I think?”</p><p> </p><p>     “What name?”</p><p> </p><p>     “It…what was it. Lilly, I think.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I see,” One pondered, walking closer to Six, “Follow me for a moment, would you?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six nodded, and followed One, ignoring the slight bit of unease that had come over him. Perhaps it was the tone his brother’s voice held. Then again he could just be paranoid at being off his game today. They moved a short distance away from the make-shift cell block. One was quiet, not saying a word as the pair of them walked. Six gazed down at his feet, scuffing them a bit along the concrete floor. He came to a halt when he bumped into his brother standing still.</p><p> </p><p>      “Oof, sorry One. Warn me next time,” he apologized.</p><p> </p><p>     One sighed, his shoulders falling, “No Six, I’m sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>     Six seemed bemused by his statement, “Sorry for what One? You didn’t do anything.”</p><p> </p><p>     One looked over his shoulder at him, eyes sad, “But I did...and now I have to make sure you stay quiet about it…”</p><p> </p><p>     Six took a step back from him, “What are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>      One turned to face him, digging inside his suit jacket for something, “I can’t risk you remembering…not when we’re so close.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Remembering <em>what</em>? I don’t remember anything! That’s why I came to ask you!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Ah, but you do remember something Six,” One rebuffed, reaching into his inner suit pocket, “You remembered her name…”</p><p> </p><p>     606-6’s eyes spied his brother reaching for his EMP detonator and felt the panic spreading through him. He grabbed hold of One’s wrist, and his brother struggled trying to get him to let go. Six clamped One’s hand over the remote, attempting to grab it from him, but only succeeding in causing the detonator to go off. One went crumpling to the ground, out cold. Six stood there a moment, feeling numb as his arms dropped to his sides. The EMP detonator clattered to the ground as it slipped from his brother’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>     “By the Masters, what have I done…”</p><p> </p><p>     Someone across the room was shouting for his attention. He looked over and saw the cages full of Toons that he and his comrades had spent the last few weeks collecting. And something buried in the back of his mind was telling him that they had to be set free; that they didn’t deserve such a fate. He still had time to get them out; One was not going to be getting up anytime soon to impede his progress. He unclasped the keys from One’s belt loop, and made his way to the first cage. After a moment of scrabbling with the keys he managed to get it in the lock. He turned it, and the lock clicked. He swung the door open and told the Toons to run before he set about getting the rest of the cages open.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>      When Taffy heard a set of keys jingling near her cage, she looked up and was surprised to see Six standing there.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hold on Taffy, I’m going to get you out of there,” He said, trying a key in the lock.</p><p> </p><p>     She frowned at him, “You didn’t want to help me before, why do it now?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six looked at her and sighed, “I’m sorry. I haven't been thinking clearly all day. But now I am. I want to help you, I mean it.”</p><p> </p><p>     “If you say so…” she murmured, tears forming in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker felt his metaphorical heart ache, “Please don’t cry.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy sniffed, “I just don’t understand why you would care after abandoning me once.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I can’t explain why. But I do care. You just have to trust me,” He replied, finally finding the right key for her cage, “Now come on; let’s get you out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>     Six opened the door, and held out his hand for her to take. Something was still telling her not to trust the Bloodsucker, but she was more than ready to get out of Lawbot. And if he was going to help her escape, what did she have to lose? Sniffing, she hesitantly grasped his hand, letting him help her out of the cage. Without looking back, the Toon let herself be led away, hoping to never see the room again.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Lilly Tangerine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Let’s see. . . I don’t recall the time when Bloodsuckers were allowed to bite Toons,” Telemarketer 118-7 mused to himself, “I’ll have to look further back in the Archives.”</p><p> </p><p>     He headed further down the aisles, running a finger along the books as he passed. Seven heaved a sigh, “I have no idea what I’m looking for.” The Sellbot picked up a random book off the shelf and flipped through it. Nothing. He skimmed through several more before his mobile went off. Slightly annoyed, he pulled it out and opened it, glancing at the Caller ID before answering.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hello, One.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven, Roxy McSocks wants a word,” his sister replied, cutting straight to the chase.</p><p> </p><p>     “What!?” He shouted into the other line, about making One drop her phone.</p><p> </p><p>     “I said, Roxy McSocks wants a word,” she repeated more slowly.</p><p> </p><p>     “Where is she?”</p><p> </p><p>     “She’s standing right in front of me.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Thank goodness! Put her on.” Seven spoke with an excited air about his voice.</p><p> </p><p>     “Uh. Okay.” 118-1 handed the blue Toon her mobile. Roxy happily snatched it away.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven?” Came Roxy’s familiar voice over the speaker.</p><p> </p><p>     Relief washed over him, “Roxy, are you all right?”</p><p>    </p><p>     “I am now.”</p><p> </p><p>     He sighed heavily into the phone, “Thank goodness. What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I can’t explain it. One moment I was smitten, the next I was back to normal,” she stated, One raising an eyebrow at her.</p><p> </p><p>     “But you’re otherwise all right?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah,” replied Roxy.</p><p> </p><p>     “Head on over to Pearl’s house, I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m finished in the Archives, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Will do.” She handed the phone back to its owner and thanked her, smiling.</p><p> </p><p>     The Name Dropper glared back and said in a somewhat sour tone, “You’re welcome, Toon.”</p><p> </p><p>     Without another word, Roxy pulled out a black hole and jumped into it. She was ready to crash, she’d probably snuggle up on the couch until Seven got back. And she hoped he’d be back soon.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     Seven sighed, “I should probably keep looking. Little Taffy’s likely still under the same effects if she’s been captured as well.”</p><p> </p><p>     Just as he said that the title of a book caught his eye. He pulled a book entitled <em>A History of Lawbots </em>out and flipped it open. He skimmed through the table of contents of the book when the sixth chapter title caught his attention. It read <em>Traditions of Old</em>. From the words he could tell he was on the right track and flipped ahead. As his eyes flicked over the words, a feeling of unease began to wash over him at what was written:</p><p> </p><p>     <em>…Probably one of the most infamous traditions held up, not by the Lawbots themselves but the Bloodsuckers, is their yearly tradition of capturing and draining the blood of Toons on the night of Old Hallows Eve. This tradition has been around as long as any can remember. It was started by one of the founding Lawbots, Vladimir Bloodsucker. Seeing it only fair that hundreds of Cogs are destroyed each day in the war against the Toons, Lawbot Master Jeremiah Big Wig deemed such acts fitting to their cause. </em></p><p>
  
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  <em>     However when his son Lamont Big Wig, the current Chief Justice, took his place as head of Lawbot Head Quarters he decided that it was time for the tradition of the Bloodsuckers to end. He deemed it too disgusting and horrific of an act for any Lawbot to commit. Not to mention the fact that a hypnotized Toon would follow their captors around in a daze; disrupting the lives of said Cogs. The aforementioned hypnotic state is caused by either an induced hypnosis or bite and can only be broken when the effects wear off over time, or if the Toon has their emotional state compromised. Some liken it to what Toons refer to as ‘heart-break’.</em>
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  <em>     Uproar surfaced, and every Bloodsucker protested against this decision. After many difficult negotiations, a verdict was reached. The tradition could still continue on one condition. Any Toons captured could not be harmed or bitten for the reasons stated in the above paragraphs. </em>
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  <em>     The tradition of capturing Toons is still practiced by Bloodsuckers today, as of the publication of this book, and is likely to continue for generations to come…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>     “Goodness this gives some context! I’d better get back to Pearl and Roxy.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven took off at a speed an Olympic sprinter would have envied and made his way to Pearl’s house.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy sat with 606-6 on a bench in one of the streets for Toontown Central. She sat there quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder. It had been nerve wracking for a while until the two of them had been able to find a confiscated sticker book and teleport out of the Head Quarters. But the Toon was still on edge; sure that another Bloodsucker would pop up at any moment.</p><p> </p><p>     “Are they going to find us, Six? I don’t want to go back.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I won’t let them take you, Taffy.”</p><p> </p><p>     She nuzzled his arm and he sighed, ruffling her hair, “It’ll be all right, Taffy. You’ll see.”</p><p> </p><p>     Taffy, though still a bit sceptical, decided he was right. Sighing, Little Taffy rested her head on the Cog’s shoulder again. Six looked over at her and smiled briefly until he saw something blinking on her sleeve. He frowned and plucked it off. It was one of the tracking devices that were put on their captured Toons. Six stood, and tossed it away from them down the street. He didn’t know if anyone would be coming to look for her soon, but he didn’t want to stay around to find out.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy, get up. We need to get going.”</p><p> </p><p>     “We do?” She asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “Unless you want them to find us?”</p><p> </p><p>     The feline shook her head and latched onto Six’s arm. He patted her head once more, and prepared to start walking until an unfamiliar voice called out behind them.</p><p> </p><p>     “Little Taffy?”</p><p> </p><p>     606-6 blinked and looked back; there stood a Telemarketer sporting a blue scarf. The Sellbot took one look at the two of them and frowned. Little Taffy looked over at the other Cog as well, and seemed to perk up.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hi Seven!” She greeted with a wave.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven?” Six asked, looking at the Telemarketer.</p><p> </p><p>     “118-7. And just who are you?”</p><p>     </p><p>     “606-6,” replied the Bloodsucker.</p><p>     “Well then, 606-6, what are you doing with Little Taffy?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m. . . uh.” Six was at a loss for words. He had sworn not to tell about the machine, but at this point?</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly the green Toon rubbed her check against him purring lightly. Seven stared at her and then back at the Bloodsucker. “Have you bitten her?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Of course not! Such an act is forbidden. Why would you think I had?” The Bloodsucker huffed, looking a little indignant at being asked such a question.</p><p> </p><p>     “It would explain her…behaviour.”</p><p> </p><p>     “She’s simply under the effects of hypnosis! I have done nothing more to her,” Six growled starting to get defensive.</p><p> </p><p>     “Well her friends are worried about her. I can get her back home where she’ll be safe.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Safe? She’ll be safe enough with me!”</p><p> </p><p>     The Telemarketer looked unconvinced, “With what your associates are planning, I have my doubts she will be.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I would never…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Even still I must insist, for her own safety, that I take her home.”</p><p> </p><p>     “But I don’t want to go home,” Little Taffy interjected, “I’ll be alright with Six. You’ll tell them I’m okay, right Seven?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Are you though?” the Sellbot asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked, clutching tighter at the Bloodsucker’s arm.</p><p> </p><p>     “You’re obviously not.” The Telemarketer frowned heavily.</p><p> </p><p>     “What do you mean,” she blinked looking at him confused, “I’m fine.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Look at yourself! What are you doing?” He asked her sounding frazzled.</p><p> </p><p>     “What do you mean, what am I doing? I want to stay with him!”</p><p> </p><p>    “No, you think you do,” Seven insisted.</p><p> </p><p>     “No. I do!”</p><p> </p><p>     The Sellbot shook his head. “That’s what Roxy thought. But she was under a spell. So are you.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m staying with him. And not you or anyone else is going to stop me,” She said flatly, as if she hadn’t heard Seven at all.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh no you’re not,” He grabbed her arm and began to haul her away, “You’re coming with me, Miss Taffy. Like it or not.”</p><p> </p><p>     “What? No! Seven, come on! Be reasonable!” She hollered.</p><p> </p><p>     “I am.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Wait, stop!” Six yelped, hoofing it after the pair.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six! Let me go, please!” Taffy begged, but the Cog’s grip only tightened.</p><p> </p><p>     “Out of the question!”</p><p> </p><p>     “No, you can’t!” Six cried, an edge of desperation beginning to creep into his voice.</p><p> </p><p>     “Watch me!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Six, stop him!” Little Taffy wailed as the Telemarketer continued to drag her away at a faster pace.</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m…I’m trying! But-”</p><p> </p><p>     Six suddenly doubled over, clutching at his hard drive. He wailed as a painful sensation, almost like an electric shock, coursed through him. His internal memory banks flashed before his eyes, running haywire as they called them to the forefront of his mind. But there were memories there that he hadn’t recalled having until that moment: memories of an analogous, yet different Toon. One he’d met only weeks ago. But one who was now gone.</p><p> </p><p>     <em>Oh Lilly...how could I have forgotten?</em></p><p> </p><p>     “Seven! Seven, wait, something’s wrong with him!”</p><p> </p><p>       Six looked up at the Telemarketer, “Please…I can’t lose her as well.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven stopped and looked back at the Bloodsucker kneeling on the ground, “What are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Lilly. They took my Lilly away…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Who did? And why?” Seven asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “My b-brother’s…because I loved her!”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy looked at him in disbelief, “W-what?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I loved her,” the Bloodsucker whimpered. “So they took her away from me. . .”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>     Six ran as fast as his legs would allow him. He felt horribly slow, like he had two anvils strapped to his ankles. He had to move faster. He couldn’t let what was about to transpire happen. Not to her. When he finally made it to their secret room, he quickly tapped in the code to enter and rushed into the room before the wall had finished rising. </em>
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  <em>     “Lilly!” </em>
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  <em>     He hurried for the center of the room, in time to see One and Three strapping a struggling Toon down to the table. Out of nowhere, his two elder brothers 606-2 and 5 grabbed hold of him from either side. They restrained his arms behind him.</em>
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  <em>      “No!” He struggled, “Let me go!”</em>
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  <em>    “Six, we told you to stay in our room,” Two told him, sternly.</em>
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  <em>    “Why are you doing this?” He wailed.</em>
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  <em>    “We told you she was for this purpose long before you captured her! If the machine doesn’t work, then all of our other plans are bust,” Five answered.</em>
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  <em>    “Please…use someone else! Anyone else!”</em>
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  <em>    “You’re the one who captured her, Six! It’s your own fault!” Two growled at him.</em>
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  <em>      Tears began to pour from his eyes. Lilly wailed loudly, the needles of the machine having dug into her. Her cries made him struggle even more, but he just couldn’t break free.</em>
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  <em>     “Lilly! Hold on, please! I’ll get you out of there!”</em>
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  <em>     “…Six, don’t!”</em>
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  <em>    “I won’t let you die like this,” He sobbed hysterically, “Not after what you’ve been through!”</em>
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  <em>     “It’s…it’s too late…” She choked out, “Just…forget about me Six…”</em>
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  <em>     “No…I can’t…I won’t!”</em>
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  <em>     Six threw his weight against Five and Two, finally managing to break free. He charged for the slab that Lilly was strapped to. One and Three grabbed hold of him as he neared it, impeding his progress any further. Lilly turned her head slightly when she heard him approaching.</em>
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  <em>     She smiled up at him, her voice fading now, “I love you, Six…but there’s no time…”</em>
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  <em>     “I love you too. I-I’ll get you out, just hang on a little longer,” He said firmly, determination behind his voice.</em>
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  <em>     “Don’t…you’ll just make them angry…”Lilly whispered. </em>
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  <em>     “I don’t care. They’re not stopping me!” </em>
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  <em>      He shoved away from his brothers and headed for the console, only for someone else to step in his path: 118-7.</em>
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  <em>     “I don’t think so!” Seven growled.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “Seven, get out of my way! Please!” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “No, I don’t think I will, Six.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “Why? I thought we were friends! You have to stop the machine,” He shouted, fresh tears falling from his eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “We are friends…but you knew this would happen! It’s your own fault for getting attached in the first place. Cogs shouldn’t even be able to get attached to Toons at all!”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     606-6 tried to shove him aside. “Then I’ll shut the machine off myself!” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     But Seven would not be moved. The Bloodsucker shoved him back. “No! I’m sorry my friend…I can’t let you.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “B-but I can’t…” He started, unable to finish, the ache too great to think about. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “Can’t what?” Seven frowned at him.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “I can’t lose her.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “I’m afraid you already have, Six,” he sneered, pointing at the Toon strapped down to the table.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     Six spun around. Lilly’s let out a rattling breath. She squirmed one last time before her body lay still. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “Lilly…no!” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     He ran to her side once more, hesitantly placing a hand on her cheek. The green Toon stared up at the ceiling with glassy, lifeless eyes. The sheen had gone from her once beautiful, soft green hair tipped in blue. Her fur had turned a sickly grey in contrast to its former bright green. A single tear fell from her left eye, streaking slowly down her cheek, but she moved no more. She was gone.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     “Lilly?” </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>     Six lightly shook her shoulder, unwilling to believe that she had gone. “W-wake up. Please…you have to. Lilly, by the Masters, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry…”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>     <em>Six began screaming in agony. Screams that echoed throughout the room and in every crevice of Six’s mind as he brought himself out of the memory…</em></p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker lay on the pavement, half curled up into a ball. Tears spilling from his eyes, He felt empty inside again. Emptier then he had before. Little Taffy and Seven simply stared at him, horror struck by his tale.</p><p> </p><p>     “W-what? I-it’s the truth…”</p><p> </p><p>     “No, I believe you, but…”</p><p> </p><p>     “But what?” Six spat out.</p><p> </p><p>     “If they did such a thing to someone you loved, why kidnap Little Taffy?” Seven asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “I…couldn’t remember. It just all came back to me when you were taking Taffy away.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven and Little Taffy looked at each other and frowned, then glanced back at Six where he kneeled on the pavement.</p><p> </p><p>     “What’s Miss Taffy got to do with this?”</p><p> </p><p>     He raised his head to look upon her, “I knew it, if only subconsciously. B-but she looks like her. Like Lilly. My Lilly Tangerine…” he choked out, sniffing back more tears, “I think that’s why I sought you out that night. I’m…I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>    Little Taffy’s eyes hardened in anger, “Y-you mean the only reason you’ve been trying to protect me was because I reminded you of Lilly?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six whimpered, “I wouldn’t wish that machine on anyone! I-I care for you, Taffy. That’s why I-”</p><p> </p><p>     “You’re lying! You never cared about me!”</p><p> </p><p>     “That’s not true,” Six rasped, his tone barely above a whisper.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes it is! You wouldn’t have captured me otherwise! You said so yourself,” She screamed.</p><p> </p><p>     118-7 pulled the green Toon into a hug and she sobbed into his shoulder. “Come now; let’s take you back to Roxy and Pearl.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy stopped suddenly and pulled away. “What am I doing?” she asked wiping away her tears.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh. Does this mean you’ve come back to your senses?” 118-7 asked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>     “I…think so,” she sniffed, rubbing her eyes again.</p><p> </p><p>     “Good. Then let’s get you out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy would have replied, if the distraught Lawbot at their feet did not do so first.</p><p> </p><p>     “T-Taffy, wait…”</p><p> </p><p>     She glared at him, “What?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Please…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen to you. I wasn’t myself. Forgive me…”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy looked at him a long moment before turning to leave, “Let’s go, Seven.”</p><p> </p><p>     Stealing a glance at the Bloodsucker, Seven saw the look of shock morph onto his face before he too turned to leave. The two headed off without a backwards glance at 606-6, who collapsed a moment later into a pile on the street.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>     Pearl was snoozing peacefully on her couch. Roxy was pacing about the living room, still waiting on Seven to get back. She glanced over at her friend and chuckled when the pink cat’s ear flicked. Unable to resist, she blew on it and her ear flicked several times in a row. Roxy giggled and poked at it. Pearl’s face scrunched up.</p><p> </p><p>     “Mrgh…I’ll feed you in a minute, Illusion.”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy chortled. Her sleeping companion grumbled and turned over. She smiled and ruffled the pink cat’s hair.</p><p>     </p><p>     “Mrrgh! I said I’d-” she opened her eyes and stopped mid-sentence when she saw who had disturbed her slumber.</p><p> </p><p>     “Hi. You feel any better?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Roxy!” the blue cat was pulled into a tight hug. “I thought I’ve never see you again.” Pearl exclaimed joyfully.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy happily returned the hug, “Yeah, well. . . Sorry about that. I wasn’t myself, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I know,” Pearl winced and let go of her friend, “Geeze, ow!”</p><p> </p><p>     “What?” Roxy asked, cocking her head in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>    “My arms still hurt…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hurt from what?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl held her arms out to show Roxy. They were covered by bandages, but some of the punctures had seeped through, leaving the wrap stained a faint brown.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy’s eyes widened at the sight of Pearl’s arms, “That’s horrible! What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>     “The Bloodsuckers . . . they made this horrible machine. It drains the blood out of us.”</p><p> </p><p>     “And they used it on you?” She asked, trembling.</p><p> </p><p>     She nodded, “I’d be lunch if Seven hadn’t been there to help.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh man, they were going to use it on me too, weren’t they?”</p><p> </p><p>     She nodded again. Roxy turned green and hugged her again. Pearl hugged her back, “Hopefully Seven will be here soon.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah, where is he? I thought he was coming right over.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m sure he’s fine; probably still looking through books.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I hope so.”</p><p> </p><p>     A few feet away from the couch, a black hole opened and a Telemarketer hopped out.</p><p>     “Good grief!” he exclaimed as he staggered to regain his footing. That was the last time he hoped to travel by black hole for a good long while.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven!” Pearl exclaimed with delight.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy squealed and tackled him to the floor. The Sellbot emitted a grunt as he hit the ground.</p><p> </p><p>     “Roxy!”</p><p> </p><p>     He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go. Having lost her once was enough for him.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl smiled as Roxy purred, happy to see the two reunited again, when suddenly Little Taffy emerged from the same black hole. Pearl looked at her like she was seeing a ghost.</p><p> </p><p>     “Little Taffy?”</p><p> </p><p>     She nodded. “Yeah, it’s me.”</p><p> </p><p>     The green Toon was pulled into a tight hug by Pearl, “Don’t ever worry me like that again missy!”</p><p>    </p><p>     “I’ll try not to,” she chuckled, returning the hug.</p><p> </p><p>     “Where have you been? I’ve been out of my mind wondering where you had gone all this time!”</p><p> </p><p>     “I found her with a Bloodsucker,” Seven supplied. “Quite a story he had too. . .”</p><p> </p><p>     “Story?” Pearl asked, “What story?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Sit down, and we’ll tell you…” Little Taffy said with a hint of distain in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, and I also came across what I was looking for in the Archives, I’m sure you’ll be interested to hear what I found as well,” added Seven.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     A quiet unease had settled over the room once Taffy and Seven finished recounting the tragedy of Six. Pearl sat there stunned, while Roxy had her hands over her mouth in absolute horror.</p><p> </p><p>     The pink cat sighed, “Well…what do we do now?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’d say nothing,” her green friend replied. “Hopefully when Six let all their prisoners get away, they’ll give up on trying to catch more.”</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t know, they seemed pretty desperate,” Seven observed.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah,” Pearl paused, “Well wait, now that Roxy’s safe, I think we could probably go and tell the CJ about all this. It’s time he knew the truth about what his Lawbots are plotting behind his back.”</p><p> </p><p>     “But will he listen to us?” Roxy asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “He has to. We can’t let this go on for any longer,” Pearl sighed.</p><p> </p><p>     “Well then, we should hurry. The more time we sit around, the more time they have to regroup,” Little Taffy pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>     “My thoughts exac-” Pearl cut herself off when she spotted something blinking on Roxy’s shirt. “Um, Roxy?”</p><p> </p><p>     The blue Toon blinked, looking bemused. She glanced down to see what Pearl had noticed. She plucked it off and held it up for all to see.</p><p> </p><p>     “What is it?” asked Seven.</p><p> </p><p>     “Dunno, but it’s blinking.” Pearl pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy held her chin in thought, wondering why it was vaguely familiar to her. It hit her just what it was when a shadow outside Pearl’s window caught her attention. She looked over at the silhouette, and her eyes bugged. She turned back to her oblivious pink friend who was staring intensely at the blinking object.</p><p> </p><p>     “Uh…Pearl? Pearl!” she said more frantically, poking her arm to try and her attention more.</p><p> </p><p>     “Not now Little Taffy,” Pearl grumbled shooing her friend’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>     “What is it Taffy?” Roxy asked. The green Toon frantically pointed at the window. Roxy looked over to see several more figures landing outside the window. Her heart nearly stopped.</p><p> </p><p>     “Pearl!” Taffy shouted once more.</p><p> </p><p>     “What?” she growled.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy grabbed the sides of her face and directed it at the window, “It’s a tracking device you numbskull!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh…” the Toon gulped back the fear slowly creeping over her at the Bloodsuckers grinned at them from outside the window.</p><p> </p><p>     “We’re screwed,” Little Taffy whimpered starting to shake from the thought of having to return to Lawbot H.Q.</p><p> </p><p>     “What do we do?” Roxy asked sounding frantic.</p><p> </p><p>     “Maybe we can out run them if we go out another way?” suggested Pearl.</p><p> </p><p>     “If I can get long enough to take off, I might be able to go for help.” Seven piped up.</p><p>    </p><p>     “Well you better run fast, because I'd rather <em>not</em> end up lunch for real this time,” Pearl squealed with fright.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven smiled, “Running fast is what I'm built for!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Then go,” Little Taffy looked over at him, “Find Mayor Flippy before it’s too late!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Will do,” he saluted before taking off full speed out of the house.</p><p> </p><p>     With Seven’s parting, the Bloodsucker armada smashed the window in and stormed the house. Roxy squealed with fright, Little Taffy screamed at the top of her lungs, and Pearl covered her eyes and wished her heart out that this wasn’t about to happen.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     606-5 and Four glanced up and down the street; looking for where the tracker’s signal was coming from. Five found it discarded and lodged in a crack in the cobblestone.</p><p> </p><p>     “Looks like one of them got away,” Four commented.</p><p> </p><p>     “Looks like it,” Five frowned.</p><p> </p><p>     The pair of them turned to head down the street when something caught their attention. Five smirked looking over at a sobbing navy blue mass lying in a heap in the ground.</p><p> </p><p>     “Or perhaps we found someone else.”</p><p> </p><p>     Both brothers walked over to him, looked down upon their youngest sibling and frowned at him. He was oblivious to them even being there, his gaze distant.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six, get up,” Five growled at him.</p><p> </p><p>    When he didn’t budge, Four snarled at his little brother and yanked him roughly to his feet by his hair. Six yelped at his scalp being tugged on. Five pulled him to look him straight in the eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “You’re in a lot of trouble little brother. Especially after what you did to One…”</p><p> </p><p>     “I don’t care. Do what you want…” he said quietly. Six hopped that they would just end him and relieve him of his misery.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh we will,” Four’s smirked maliciously, “You're going to watch every Toon we recapture go through the machine tonight at Midnight.”</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly, Six began to care. His head shot up, eyes wide with absolute horror.</p><p> </p><p>      “No! You can’t!”</p><p> </p><p>     Four and Five grinned something nasty at their little brother, and he started sobbing. Five gripped his chin, “And since we put trackers on all of our captured Toons, you’ll be watching a lot, Six.”</p><p> </p><p>     Both brothers chuckled at him before dragging his struggling form back to Lawbot.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     Mayor Flippy was busily indulged in paper work, filing missing claims on Toons. He sighed; having to do this every Halloween was getting rather tiring. They always turned up a day or so later anyway.</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly the door of his office burst open and 118-7 the Telemarketer entered his office looking frantic. The noise startled him, causing him to jump.</p><p> </p><p>      “Oh good, you’re here,” Seven breathed.</p><p> </p><p>    Flippy looked at him, still a bit rattled, “118-7?”</p><p> </p><p>    “Roxy McSocks and her friends are in danger!”</p><p> </p><p>     “What? What’s happened?”</p><p> </p><p>    “Bloodsuckers have them surrounded at Pearl's house! I came here as quick as I could, but we have to hurry!”</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy sprang up from his seat at the news. It was one thing to capture Toons off the street, but to attack them in their own homes? They’d gone too far this time!</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m right behind you, 118-7.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven nodded and ran as fast as he could out of the office. Flippy pulled out his black hole and jumped into it, disappearing into the blackness.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     The hole opened outside Pearl’s door. Flippy poked his head inside to find an absolute mess. All of Pearl’s belongings were smashed or ripped to pieces. Flippy felt sick; they had arrived too late to help them.</p><p> </p><p>     “They’re gone…” was all he could muster in those moments.</p><p> </p><p>     Suddenly Seven was behind him, having heard the Mayor’s comment. He couldn’t believe it was true.</p><p> </p><p>     “No...Roxy…”</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy turned to face him, his face creased with worry. Something about this whole situation was very bothersome.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why would they come to an estate and kidnap them?”</p><p> </p><p>     “They want to drain them of all their blood. They’re hiding a vile machine in Lawbot. I thought they were all safe until we discovered a tracer on Roxy’s shirt. Moments later, a hoard of Bloodsuckers were outside the estate,” Seven said quietly.</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy’s expression became horrified at Seven’s announcement, “Has the Chief Justice been informed about this at all?”</p><p> </p><p>     The Telemarketer looked shamefully at the ground, “I haven’t had the chance.”</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy sighed at the news before his face hardened in anger, “Then let’s go have a little chat with him, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Indeed,” Seven agreed and took off again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     Flippy frowned as he and 118-7 inched closer to Lawbot, seeing the guard post outside were a number of Bloodsuckers. They would surely alarm the others inside if the two of them tried anything from here. Flippy sighed, rubbing his head.</p><p> </p><p>     “This isn’t good.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven frowned, “I don’t suppose we could try sauntering by?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Doesn’t look like it.”</p><p> </p><p>    Seven scratched his chin in thought, not able to come up with any answers. His dismay continued to grow by the second. What were they to do now if they could not get in to see the Chief Justice?</p><p> </p><p>     “If only we could somehow contact the C.J. directly.”</p><p> </p><p>     Seven suddenly perked up, “Of course, how could I forget?” He smiled, pulling out his phone, “I still have the Vice President’s number in my contacts.”</p><p> </p><p>     “You do? Go and give him a call then.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Will do,” Seven replied, dialling the number.</p><p> </p><p>     A moment later the Sellbot Boss answered, “Hello Seven.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Sir we have a situation,” Seven frowned cutting to the chase, “I've uncovered a plot by the Bloodsuckers. They have a machine to drain the blood of Toons. And they’re planning on using it tonight.”</p><p> </p><p>     “What? They were forbidden from harming Toons in that barbaric manner!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hence 'uncovered a plot', Sir.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Sellbot Boss frowned, “I'll tell Monty right away. Don’t do anything reckless, Seven,” he commanded. A second later, the line clicked off.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven closed his phone with a snap, “He’s on it.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Good…” sighed Flippy, feeling somewhat relieved.</p><p> </p><p>     “Now all we have to do is…wait.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes, but he'd better hurry,” Flippy turned to look at the H.Q. and frowned once more, “It's getting late.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Scarlet Traces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>606-6 had gone limp, he had no strength left. He hardly noticed his brothers keeping a firm grip on him as he stared blankly down at the floor; his ears deaf to the buzzing excitement around him. A searing pain short through his head as one of his brother grabbed a fistful of his hair. Six had his head tugged upwards to look at the table, the last place he saw his Lilly alive. The last place he wanted to gaze at.</p><p> </p><p>     “No…” he whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>     “What’s the matter Six? Just relax and enjoy the show!”</p><p> </p><p>     Six glared at his brother through the film of tears in his eyes, “You’re all monsters…”</p><p> </p><p>     “No more monstrous then you, brother,” Two replied.</p><p> </p><p>     “Indeed. We wouldn’t have had our test subject if it wasn’t for you,” Five grinned.</p><p> </p><p>     “S-shut up…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh we will, Six. We wouldn’t want you to miss a second,” Five crooned, “Especially when <em>she’s</em> first in line.”</p><p> </p><p>     “What are you…?” Six looked forward, feeling his metaphorical heart stop, “No! Not <em>her</em>!”</p><p>    </p><p>     Little Taffy screamed and cursed as her captors hauled her out from the store of recaptured Toons. Six looked at her, and felt himself on the verge of shutdown.</p><p> </p><p> “No, please…” he sobbed.</p><p> </p><p>      He couldn’t let her life end in this way. She didn’t deserve it, and neither had Lilly. He had to do something now, or she too would be lost. Little Taffy was strapped in, kicking and struggling all the way. But her struggles didn’t alter the fact that she could no longer get away.</p><p> </p><p>     “Please! Let her go!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Not a chance Six,” Two chuckled darkly.</p><p>    </p><p>     Six couldn’t stand it any longer, he had to try something. He struggled, but the strength of his brothers was too much. He slumped a bit, feeling helpless as the machine started up. A moment later, Little Taffy let off a blood curtailing shriek, that made Six flinch as if he’s been physically struck. The sight of her on that table making him relive that horrific night over and over in his mind.</p><p> </p><p>     “Stop!” she howled, “It hurts…”</p><p> </p><p>    Six felt sick when he heard the mocking laughed of his siblings and the other Bloodsuckers as she tried feebly to free herself. Paralyzed with horror, he could do little but watch as the machine slowly drained the life out of her. As the seconds ticked past, he could see her getting slowly weaker, and the Cog had to shut is eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy…I’ve failed you too…”</p><p> </p><p>     “What is going on here?!” rang out the voice of the outraged Chief Justice.</p><p>    </p><p>     Every Bloodsucker’s attention in the room suddenly snapped to that of their Boss, including Six. They all wore shocks of horror save for him. He could have almost wept with joy at the sight of him. He still had a chance to save her. He just had to get away.</p><p> </p><p>     “Stop this at once, all of you!” Ordered the Chief.</p><p> </p><p>    Anger and hatred morphed onto their faces. It was clear none of them had any intention of backing down. It was a good thing he had brought back up with him. He’d had a feeling from the account that the Vice President had told him that they would be less then civilized. The Chief Justice signaled to his second-in-command standing next to him.</p><p> </p><p>     Two nodded in reply, before giving his own signal. Several other variants of Lawbot charged out from behind his treads at the hoard of Bloodsuckers. Having stirred the proverbial hornets’ nest, the Bloodsuckers charged at the other Lawbots. Two and Five let go of their brother to help the others against the onslaught of other Lawbots invading their secret place.</p><p> </p><p>    Six wasted no time, hauling himself up and running for the console. It was his only chance to save her, and this time he wouldn’t fail. He ran, dodging past the fights breaking out; nearly tripping over a few who had fallen, and almost getting nabbed by a few other Lawbots. As he neared the console, however, someone tackled him to the ground. Briefly stunned, Six’s vision took a moment to clear, before he realized who had slammed into him.</p><p> </p><p>     “Where do you think you’re going, Six?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven, you’re not going to stop me this time,” he growled, gritting his teeth as he squirmed to get free.</p><p> </p><p>    “You’ll shut the machine off over my dead body, Six!” Seven snarled throwing a punch at the Bloodsucker he had pinned to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>    </p><p>     The punch caught Six in region where his hard drive was located, and he flinched, curling into himself from the blow. Seven stood and smirked down and the other Lawbot, “You couldn't save Lilly, what makes you think you can save this one?”</p><p> </p><p>      “I just…will!” Six stubbornly coughed from the floor as he attempted to stand.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven sneered and delivered a kick to his side, sending Six back to the floor. Six wheezed, crawling towards the table where Little Taffy lay strapped. Seven growled and kicked at him again. Six yelped, stopping for only a second before he continued to make his way towards the Toon.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh Six…” Seven chuckled, bending down to his level as he reached the base of the table, pressing the other’s face into the concrete, “You just don’t know when to give up, do you?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I can’t…Lilly would have wanted me…to keep going…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hmmp, Lilly is dead,’ he snorted, “And so is Miss Taffy…”</p><p> </p><p>     “No…she’s <em>not</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>     Six pushed himself upright from under Seven’s hold, knocking the top of his friend’s head into the emergency release switch that was on the underside of the table. The straps holding Little Taffy down withdrew, and the needles retracted away from her arms. She groaned weakly, much to Six’s relief. She was still breathing; she was still alive. While Seven was dazed, Six hauled himself upright. The Toon’s eyes were unfocused, but she looked over at him.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy, can you hear me? It’s Six.”</p><p> </p><p>     “S-Six?” She asked; her words faint.</p><p> </p><p>     “It’s alright…you’re safe. I’m going to get you out of here.”</p><p> </p><p>     “…safe?” Taffy paused, glancing at something to the Cog’s left, “Six…behind…”</p><p> </p><p>     Six had no time to respond as he was pulled back from the table by Seven. Growling with anger, Six spun around in his captor’s hold, landing a solid punch to the other’s mouth. Seven yelped from the blow and felt something come lose in his mouth. He spit it out into his hand and his eyes widened when he saw it was one of his fangs. He snarled, enraged, and kicked 606-6 hard in his knee joint. Six howled in pain as his knee collapsed underneath him.</p><p> </p><p>     “I’ve had just about all I can take of you Six…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Believe me…the feeling is mutual…” he snarled back.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven snorted and turned back to the console, and Six felt his metaphorical heart leap. Seven was going to start the machine back up. There would be no way that Taffy would survive it. He had to do something. His eyes scanned the panels for anything he could use. His gaze came to rest on a small box that had some of the power cables going into it, and he knew what had to be done.</p><p> </p><p>     Finally his knee released and he could stand. Six mustered up one last burst of speed, and charged at Seven, knocking the Cog into the console frame. Seven grunted from the impact, but was dazed long enough for Six to grab hold of one of the cables from the power box and rip it free. It sparked as the wires became exposed. As Seven was trying to recover, Six slammed him back into the machine.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven growled, “Get off me, now!”</p><p> </p><p>     “Sorry Seven…I can’t do that,” he hissed, leaning closer to his ear, “Consider this my termination of our friendship.”</p><p> </p><p>     Without another thought, Six jammed the exposed end of the power cable into the back of Seven’s neck. The Lawbot screeched in pain as the electricity began to hyper fry his hard drive. Six’s own agonizing screams joined his, as the electricity conducted through Seven’s body and into his own. Six finally let go of the cable when he noticed Seven had stopped screaming, and stumbled away from the now still body that slumped to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>     Six stood there, dumbfounded by the site of what he had just done until someone touched his arm, bringing him out of it. He turned and was shocked to see Little Taffy standing there.</p><p> </p><p>     “S-six, you…” she groaned, pitching forward.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy!” He nearly shouted, grabbing hold of her, “You shouldn’t-”</p><p> </p><p>     Six stopped when a sudden weakness overcame his entire body, sending him to his knees. Taffy went with him, unable to hardly stand herself.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I…don’t…” he swayed a bit, feeling his hard drive starting to sputter, “Something’s wrong...the shock…must have been…the shock…”</p><p> </p><p>     “S-shock? What shock?” She asked, her awareness coming back a little.</p><p> </p><p>     “Seven he…was going to turn the machine back on,” the Bloodsucker whimpered, clutching at his chest. He looked back up at Little Taffy, a painful smile on his lips, “I stopped him though…I stopped him.”</p><p>    </p><p>     The Toon covered her mouth, horrified, “But you…what about you? Are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>     Six winced as he attempted to moved, and shook his head, “No I…feel myself fading…”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy shook her head, refusing to believe he was dying. He couldn’t; not now! “No!” she cried grabbing hold of his shoulders, “You…you don’t deserve to die this way…” she sobbed, “I-I won’t let you! You s-saved me.”</p><p> </p><p>     “It can’t…be helped,” he said simply, “It’s too late…”</p><p> </p><p>     “N-no it’s never too late. We can still-”</p><p> </p><p>     Six cut her off by putting a finger to her lips, “Taffy...,” he sighed, “This is just the way…it has to be. I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy continued sobbing, and Six gently touched her cheek. She leaned into his touch, putting her hand over his. He sighed, closing his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy, I’m…sorry I got you mixed up in this. I should have…should have remembered…Lilly…”</p><p> </p><p>     “No…Six, it’s alright,” she sniffed, touching his shoulder, “You didn’t know…I forgive you.”</p><p> </p><p>     Six smiled and opened his eyes slightly, “You do?”</p><p> </p><p>     The Toon nodded, tears forming in her eyes, “I do.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker closed his eyes once more, sighing in relief, “Thank you…” he paused, “Taffy?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yes? What is it?” She asked, leaning in closer to hear him better over the shouting in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>     “Little Taffy. . . do you. . . do you think I. . . I'll get to see. . . Lilly. . . again?”</p><p> </p><p>     “I…I don’t know, Six,” she replied, biting her lower lip, “But, I’d like to believe so.”</p><p> </p><p>     Six gave the happiest smile Taffy thought she’d ever seen. And then, it was gone. Six’s body went completely limp as his hard drive finally shut down for the last time. Little Taffy sat there a moment, unable to register that Six was no longer responding. She gently shook his shoulder, trying to get a rise out of him; but he did not move.</p><p> </p><p>    Little Taffy’s body began to shake, “Six…” she muttered, “Six? Oh God…no…”</p><p> </p><p>     The Toon’s chest heaved with heavy sobs that drowned out the noise around her. She didn’t even register the fact that someone was calling to her until Roxy and Pearl were pulling her away from Six’s body. She was screaming at them to let her go. That Six needed help. But her vision was beginning to fade out, until she felt her mind recede into complete darkness.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>     The Chief Justice looked around at the Bloodsuckers that had been rounded up before he looked to159-2. His second-in-command returned the look and sighed.</p><p> </p><p> “Sir, what should we do now?”</p><p> </p><p>     He took a deep breath and looked down at him, saying in a forced calm tone, “Release the Toon prisoners we currently have.”</p><p> </p><p>     Two blinked, “All of them, Chief?”</p><p> </p><p>     He nodded, “All of them,” he glanced back over the captured Bloodsuckers and scowled with a disgusted look on his face that matched no other, “We’re going to need all the room we can get.”</p><p> </p><p>     Two nodded and gestured to the others, “All right you heard the Boss. Off to the jail blocks with the lot of them!”</p><p> </p><p>     The C.J. watched as they filed out of the room and was about to leave himself when he heard the cries of the still incarcerated Toons in the cages behind him.</p><p> </p><p>     “There’s more Toons over here!” Lamont shouted before gesturing to a random Lawbot, “You there, release them.”</p><p> </p><p>     The Lawbot did as instructed and set about opening the cages. Most of the Toons ran for it as fast as they can, but two, the Lawbot Boss noticed, stayed behind. They ran over to a corner of the room where a familiar looking green feline sat kneeling by an unresponsive Bloodsucker. There was a second one, a short distance away. In all the commotion he hadn’t noticed them until now.</p><p> </p><p>     Lamont looked back at 159-2, and halted his march with the other Lawbots. He directed Two’s attention to the scene across the room. Two nodded and began asking amongst the captured Bloodsuckers who were missing siblings.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>   </p><p> </p><p>     “Little Taffy? Hey, can you hear me?”</p><p> </p><p>     “It’s no good Pearl, she’s out cold.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl cursed under her breath, “We need to get her to a hospital….”</p><p> </p><p>     “How? Neither of us have our shticker books!”</p><p> </p><p>     The pink feline wracked her brain, trying to think of something to no avail. All the other captured Toons had already made a run for it. Not that she blamed them. That machine was a monstrosity.</p><p> </p><p>     “By the Masters…Six?!”</p><p> </p><p>     “S-Seven?!”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl and Roxy spun around when they heard the voices. Behind them were the remainders of the 118 and 606 batch. Some of the other Lawbots were close behind them, as to make sure they weren’t going very far. The 118 batch rushed over to Seven lying near the console and crowded around him. The 606 batch approached their fallen brother much more slowly, as if in shock. Roxy and Pearl relaxed a bit when they realized that the Cogs were no longer interested in them. However, one of the other Lawbot variants waiting, a Big Wig, approached them.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why haven’t you Toons left yet?” 159-2 asked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>     “Our friend needs medical attention. But we can’t teleport out of here without our shticker books,” Roxy replied.</p><p> </p><p>     “And there’s no way we’re leaving her here alone,” Pearl chimed in.</p><p> </p><p>     “I see…” Two pondered for a moment before pulling out his cellphone, “The Foreman will be arriving here shortly to assess the damage those two have suffered. I’ll ask him to bring one with him.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh! Thank you,” Pearl blinked, surprised by the offer.</p><p> </p><p>     Two simply nodded as he dialed the number into his phone. He spoke for a moment before hanging it up, and the room fell into silence. The occasional sniffle was heard from the 118 and 606 batches, but the quiet remained tense until the Foreman finally arrived. The Skelecog wasted no time once he was there, and asked the brothers to move Six and Seven to where he could inspect them better.</p><p> </p><p>     Once they were placed, the Foreman hooked them up to a lap top he had brought up from Maintenance and attempted to boot up their hard drives. After a few moments of nothing, he stopped the program and sighed. Both sets of brothers looked at him, but he shook his head. Foreman stepped away from the Bloodsuckers as to give them the space they needed to grieve. He walked back over to Two, looking downtrodden.</p><p> </p><p>     “I take it the damage was…irreversible?”       </p><p> </p><p>     The Foreman nodded, “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do…”</p><p> </p><p>     “I’m sorry to hear that,” he paused, “Did you bring the shticker book for the Toons?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Of course,” he replied, glancing over at the three felines.</p><p> </p><p>     The Skelecog walked over to them, and handed the book to Pearl. She nodded her thanks, and opened the book up. She took out the black hole and slapped it on the floor.</p><p> </p><p> “Thank you. I hope we’re not too late…” Roxy sighed.</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl wiped a few tears away, “Me too…” the grabbed hold of Taffy’s legs, “Roxy get her other side for me, will you?”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy nodded and grabbed hold of her arms, “On three then.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl started the count, “One, two th-”</p><p> </p><p>     “Hey Toons!”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl and Roxy stopped when one of the 606 batch stepped towards them. They froze, looking alarmed by his approach. 159-2 made a move to stop him from trying anything when the Bloodsucker held up his hands in a sign of amity. Two looked Pearl and Roxy in the eye.</p><p> </p><p>     “After what Six did for her…you make sure she lives. Understand?”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl nodded firmly at him and he nodded back before heading back over to his brothers. Pearl stared the count again and on three the pair heaved Little Taffy through the black hole.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Together Again (Epilogue)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The world faded in and out. She thought she could hear Pearl and Roxy somewhere in the brief moments of awareness, but it was never for long. It wasn’t as though she could respond anyway. Her whole body felt as though it were wrapped in a thick blanket that had been sewn around her. When Little Taffy finally managed to open her eyes, it was dark, and she was alone.</p><p> </p><p>    “Where am I?”</p><p> </p><p>     She glanced around the vast, empty space laid out before her, but could not discern anything familiar.</p><p> </p><p>     “Is anyone out there?” Taffy called out, a hint of fear and desperation in her voice.</p><p>    </p><p>     Someone passed by out of the corner of her eye, and Little Taffy flinched. When she looked in the shadow’s direction, she was surprised to see someone familiar walking away from her, and she felt her heart leap.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six?” She called out to him.</p><p> </p><p>     The Bloodsucker walked a few more paces before coming to a halt. He turned to look back at her over his shoulder. The two held a gaze for what seemed like an eternity until Six gave her a bittersweet smile. Little Taffy reached out to him, but the Cog turned away from her and continued his trek forward.</p><p> </p><p>     “Six, wait!”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy attempted to follow after him, but it was as though she were running in place. Six continued to get further and further from her, and there was nothing she could do to catch up. She finally stopped when she could see someone coming towards Six out of the inky blackness that stretched out before them. He too stopped as the figure approached, and he seemed almost taken aback when they stepped into the light.</p><p> </p><p>       Taffy could see it was another Toon, one that looked very similar to her. She could have almost been Little Taffy’s doppelganger, were it not for her darker green fur, the blue dyed ends of her hair, and the black dress she wore. The realization of who this Toon was hit Little Taffy a moment later.</p><p> </p><p>      “Lilly?”</p><p> </p><p>     At the mention of her name, Lilly looked over at Little Taffy with mild surprise before smiling sweetly at her. Six looked back at her as well, nodding slightly before taking hold of Lilly’s hand in his own. The pair turned away, and disappeared into the dark. A jolt of panic shot through her again as the sensation of being alone once more washed over her, until she thought she heard a voice echoing to her through the void.</p><p> </p><p>      “Thank you for helping me find her again…”</p><p> </p><p>    “Six? Six, wait!” She called out as her vision began to white out. Someone was tapping her gently.</p><p> </p><p>     “Taffy? Can you hear me?”</p><p> </p><p>      Little Taffy blinked once before shutting her eyes tightly to shield them from the bright fluorescents above her.</p><p> </p><p>     “Little Taffy, hello?”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy’s vision finally focused on her second attempt to open them, and the room came into view. Her friends and Mayor Flippy were gathered around her bed side. To her left was an IV drip. The room itself was decorated for the holiday, several paper chains in the shape of ghosts and black cats hung on the walls, and a few carved pumpkins sat in the corner with candles flickering inside them.</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy sighed relieved, “We were beginning to think you weren’t going to wake up…”</p><p> </p><p>     Taffy blinked and asked in a quiet sounding voice, “How long was I out for?”</p><p> </p><p>     “You were dead to the world for several hours,” Pearl said, frowning slightly.</p><p> </p><p>     Seven looked over at her, “606-6 got you out of that machine just in time. Any longer and…” he paused, trailing off.</p><p> </p><p>     She didn’t say anything, trying to remember her dream. Or, had it been a dream? She couldn’t have known what Lilly looked like before; but to see her there with Six? Little Taffy groaned a bit and rubbed at her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>    “Something wrong?” Asked the pink Toon.</p><p> </p><p>     “N-no…I just feel thirsty…” Taffy lied.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh, okay,” Pearl smiled at her, “I’ll go ask the nurse for some water.”</p><p> </p><p>     Pearl whisked off to retrieve her friend a drink. Roxy watched her go before turning back to Taffy.</p><p> </p><p>     “The doctor says you'll feel weak for a few days, so rest and take it easy, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Ow,” she whimpered, “Everything hurts…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh you, come here,” Roxy frowned giving her a hug.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy winced but returned her hug all the same. Roxy smiled and ruffled her hair.</p><p> </p><p>      “I know it may not seem like it now, but you'll get better.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah…” She frowned, thinking again of what she had seen.</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy cocked her head in confusion, “Are you sure you’re alright, Little Taffy?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh…uh, yeah. I just…had a weird dream, is all.”</p><p> </p><p>     “A weird dream? What happened in it?” Roxy asked.</p><p> </p><p>     “I saw Six there…and I tried to get to him, but I was too slow. And then…Lilly showed up.”</p><p> </p><p>      Seven blinked and looked at her, recognizing the name, “Lilly? You mean that other Toon Six told us about?”</p><p> </p><p>      Little Taffy nodded, “It was her, I’m sure of it.”</p><p> </p><p>     “But you don't even know what she looks like,” Roxy blinked.</p><p> </p><p>     “I know, but I think it was really her,” she paused, “She looked at me when I said her name, so…”</p><p> </p><p>     Roxy’s eyes widened at the news. Seven and Flippy remained quiet. But all frowned in the room when their green friend’s eyes began to fill with tears.</p><p> </p><p>     “They left before I…could say goodbye to him.”</p><p> </p><p>     “Aww, Taffy,” Roxy crooned, patting her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>     “Why do I feel like this,” she continued as if she hadn’t noticed Roxy, “I shouldn’t feel like I’ll miss him. But I do…”</p><p> </p><p>     All the other occupants of the room exchanged a sad expression before the silence was broken by Pearl’s arrival.</p><p> </p><p>     “I’ve got the water,” she smiled happily until she saw the sour expressions on everyone’s faces, “Wait, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>     “Nothing,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes, “I’ll tell you later…”</p><p> </p><p>     “Alright,” she said sounding a bit disappointed before she handed Little Taffy the glass, “Here, drink this.”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy quietly took the cup and sipped the water inside. The room remained quiet another long moment until Flippy’s voice broke the silence.</p><p> </p><p>     “At least he's in a better place now,” he smiled at her.</p><p> </p><p>     “Yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>     Quiet again settled over the five until a moment later when Pearl remembered something, “Oh, one more thing, the nurse who gave me the water said to give you this,” Pearl handed her a large chocolate bar, “It<em> is</em> Halloween after all…”</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy looked at it a moment, unwrapped it and broke it into several pieces, “You guys can have some if you’d like. I’m not all that hungry right now…”</p><p> </p><p>     Flippy, Roxy and Pearl all took a piece and chomped on it happily. Seven stared at it, perplexed. He was contemplating whether or not it would be rude to decline the offer when Little Taffy looked over at him.</p><p> </p><p>     “You don’t have to have any, Seven. I know you can’t eat it,” she chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>     “Oh! Yes. Thank you for the offer nonetheless,” Seven smiled at her.</p><p> </p><p>     Little Taffy smiled back at him, and at the other three Toons occupying her hospital room, “Well…Happy Halloween guys.”</p><p> </p><p>     There was a chorus of Happy Halloween from Roxy, Pearl, Flippy and Seven that made Little Taffy giggle. For a brief moment she thought she could hear Six’s laugh intermixed with her own and she smiled wistfully. He might be gone, but was far from forgotten. She’d never forget his sacrifice for her and her friends.</p><p> </p><p>     <em>Thank you Six…and goodbye…</em></p>
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